Additive Manufacturing of Topology-Optimized Robotic Manipulator Link

This work presents the design and additive manufacturing of a lightweight robotic forearm link for a serial manipulator. The link was topology-optimized to reduce mass while maintaining sufficient stiffness and strength under representative multi-axial loading conditions. Topology optimization was performed in Altair Inspire, and the resulting material layout was refined using design-foradditive-manufacturing principles to produce a smooth, manufacturable geometry. Structural reanalysis confirmed that the optimized design achieved a significant reduction in volume-from 371 cm3 to 145.79 cm3 -without compromising structural performance. Manufacturability was validated through the fabrication of a scaled polymer prototype using fused filament fabrication. For full-scale production, laser powder-bed fusion of AlSi10Mg was identified as an appropriate manufacturing process due to its ability to produce complex, monolithic components. A cost comparison with conventional multi-part CNC fabrication showed that additive manufacturing provides both economic and technical advantages for low-volume production.