Sheet Metal Fabricator's Study of Generative Design, Offers an Innovative Manufacturing Approach

Generative Design Concepts Engineers and designers at General Electric, sheet metal fabricators, and companies like Airbus and General Motors are using a new tool called generative design to explore thousands of design iterations whose geometries are defined in their automatically generated in the software.

While generative design works best with additive manufacturing processes (i.e. 3D printing), sheet metal fabrication shop developers are also rapidly integrating traditional manufacturing process technologies. In April 2018, Autodesk commercially launched its generative design tool on the Autodesk Fusion 360 platform. This example on our website shows how to use this technique to optimize a skateboard truck design.

In contrast to other automated manufacturing techniques, sheet metal fabrication does not require preliminary CAD instructions for generative design.

Sheet metal fabrication engineers enter a set of design parameters - special constraints, loading, materials and manufacturing methods. Then, using cloud-based software, create hundreds or even thousands of possible designs that meet those criteria. Many geometries have other-world appearances, with swooping curves and complex lattices that human designers are not used to thinking about, and are difficult to model parametrically.

Generative design techniques are still in the early stages of development and not yet practical for mass production. However, there are some notable success stories. The adidas Futurecraft 4D high-performance sneaker, for example, was generatively designed and set to go into production this year. Meanwhile, Airbus has been exploring generative design techniques to create lightweight interior panels for its aircraft.

The current potential of generative design is still limited by hardware limitations, but this novel approach is sure to become more useful and applicable to real-world design challenges over time. Essentially, generative design mimics the natural evolutionary process, finding the best solution through rapid iterative iterations. If sheet metal fabrication engineers can overcome the current limitations of generative design, this technology could have a transformative impact on the structure and appearance of future industrial designs.

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