Review on Structure Optimization in 3D Printing

3D printing technologies have created a bridge between digital 3D models and modern product development and become more and more popular in industrial practice. Compared to the traditional manufacturing technologies, 3D printing has significantly reduced the manufacturing constraints and decreases the manufacturing skill requirements. Therefore it has effectively promoted the design and manufacture of personalized products. This paper provides an intensive survey on the works on structural analysis and optimization in designing 3D models for 3D printing purposes, with a classification of this huge field of research and discuss about the relation between the single algorithms and a list of desirable objectives in structural analysis. Specifically, it has overviewed various aspects of structural analysis including material saving, strength enhancement, stability improvement, and support structure optimization. Finally, this paper offers an analysis of the state of the art while discussing open and challenging problems from both an academic and an industrial perspective.