ABSTRACT
Topology optimization (TO) finds the best use of material for a body subjected to different loads with respect to some objectives. Additive manufacturing processes enable manufacturing of complex geometries with multimaterials. Useful distribution of material in a geometric domain to match target mass, displacement, and stiffness is made possible with TO. TO was performed by CAESS ProTOp software and Creo 2.0. In this work, TO of a spur gear is carried out. It is optimized for tangential force acting on the gear tooth. Stresses and displacements of topology-optimized spur gear are compared with a fully solid part. The displacements on the two parts are comparable. It is observed that after TO, stresses are reduced and a volume reduction of 25% is obtained.
