Design of conformal lattice structures using the volumetric distance field based on parametric solid models

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe a novel design method to construct lattice structure computational models composed of a set of unit cells including simple cubic, body-centered cubic, face-centered cubic, diamond cubic and octet cubic unit cell. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors introduce a new implicit design algorithm based on the computation of volumetric distance field (VDF). All the geometric components including lattice core structure and outer skin are represented with VDFs in a given design domain. This enables computationally efficient design of a computational model for an arbitrarily complex lattice structure. In addition, the authors propose a hybrid method based on the VDF and parametric solid models to construct a conformal lattice structure, which is oriented in accordance with the geometric form of the exterior surface. This method enables the authors to design highly complex lattice structure, computational models, in a consistent design framework irrespective of the complexity in geometric representations without sacrificing accuracy and efficiency. Findings Experimental results are shown for a variety of geometries to validate the proposed design method along with illustrative several lattice structure prototypes built by additive manufacturing techniques. Originality/value This method enables the authors to design highly complex lattice structure, computational models, in a consistent design framework irrespective of the complexity in geometric representations without sacrificing accuracy and efficiency.