Cost-driven build orientation and bin packing of parts in Selective Laser Melting (SLM)

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is an additive manufacturing process capable of producing mixed batches of parts simultaneously within a single build. The build orientation of a part in SLM is a key process parameter, affecting the build cost, time and quality, as well as batch size. Choosing an optimal arrangement of multiple heterogeneous parts inside the SLM machine also presents a challenging irregular bin packing problem. Since the two problems are interdependent, this paper addresses the combined problem of finding an optimal build orientation and two-dimensional irregular bin packing solution of a mixed batch of parts across identical SLM machines. We address this problem specifically in the context of low-volume high-variety (LVHV) production in the aerospace sector, using total build cost as the objective function. To solve this problem, we present an Iterative Tabu Search Procedure (ITSP), which consists of six distinct stages. We test each stage in the ITSP on 27 manually generated instances, based on 68 unique geometries ranging in convexity and size, including six real-life components from the aerospace industry. Two of the six stages, which are driven by support structure volume, returned the highest improvement in cost. Overall, the results showed an average cost improvement of 16.2% over the initial solution. The initial solution of the procedure was benchmarked against a commercial software, showing comparable results. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.