ABSTRACT

This chapter aims to develop a new methodological design for additive manufacturing framework, which integrates existing tools, provides continuous support for design engineers to fully exploit additive manufacturing (AM)-specific potentials for new product generations, and facilitates AM-conformal designs. AM provides design engineers with an immense new geometric freedom making conventional guidelines of design for manufacture and assembly obsolete. Although AM design rule collections ensure manufacturability and approaches related to AM design potentials foster creativity and the development of innovative solutions, the isolated application of both aspects can prevent the creation of optimal AM products. AM has been identified as a key enabler for mass customization, the objective of satisfying individual customer needs with mass production efficiency. AM-enabled mass customization particularly includes personalized medical products, such as hearing aids, which require advanced 3D-scanning technologies and approaches for customer codesign of aesthetically appealing consumer products.