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Additive Manufacturing Is Changing How We Design

Geometric freedom is just the start. AM will also change how design happens.

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Additive manufacturing will change design. It won't just change design geometries, it will also change how design happens. Hear more in the video above and visit this content collection exploring the intersection of AM and design.

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Additive manufacturing will change design—not just design geometries, but how design happens.

We're accustomed to design and manufacturing being separate. You lock in the design then you tool up and produce. But with additive, there's no tooling and what used to be separate steps performed by separate suppliers could now all consolidate into one 3D printing build.

As a result, we're free to keep on refining the design. We're free to change the design in the midst of production if the market says that the details or a feature of a given product has to change, we can make that change in production and keep producing.

So when does prototyping end and production begin? And when is the design work really over? With additive, design and manufacturing blend together.

Design for Additive Manufacturing (DFAM)

a yellow 3d printed part held in front of a computer screen

Design for additive manufacturing (DFAM) goes beyond design for manufacturability. Generative design and topology optimization make it possible to design shapes that only 3D printing can make. VISIT THE ZONE

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