The study on lattice structure on 3D printed monitor stand

• Main Author: Chan, Wei Gang
• Other Authors: Wong Chee How
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/70580
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Lightweight design is achieved by using topology optimization and lattice structure to reduce weight while maintaining the required strength. With rapid development in additive manufacturing technology, integrating lattice cells in to structures for manufacturing are becoming more common. Adopting lattice structure into designing parts will reduce material usage, weight, and at the same time maintain or even increase the stiffness, resulting in a high stiffness to weight ratio product. One applicable example like the monitor stand will benefit from using this approach as monitors are getting bulkier but the size of the stands remains the same. Therefore, if the size of the stands can be reduced then there will be an overall reduction in weight and size for the whole assembly. This report hopes to study the effect of integrating lattice cells in to a simple structure such as a monitor stand to determine the benefits of using such approach and at the same time create a structure capable of withstanding the weight of monitors while maintaining a small footprint. The first phase of the report will involve the study of lattice cell designs and how certain parameters will affect the lattice cell stability. After obtaining key findings from the first phase, a preliminary design is created for the monitor stand which will then be 3D printed for the next phase. The second phase will consist of running computer simulations of the preliminary design and comparing it against the 3D printed structure to determine the accuracy of the results. This research will show the benefits on integrating lattice structures in the monitor stands and may help to determine the feasibility of using 3D printing in manufacturing such structure.