The SOLIDWORKS User Group Catalunya continues its three-part Additive Manufacturing for Automotive Engineering series with a session focused on one of the most important transformations enabled by additive technologies: designing parts specifically for the manufacturing process.

As part of the Computer-Aided Design and Analysis course within the Master’s Degree in Automotive Engineering, we once again open the classroom to the wider engineering and SOLIDWORKS community.

This session will be delivered by Ricardo Vazquez, Senior Applications Engineer at Shift 3D, and will focus on Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM), lightweight design, topology optimization, generative design and integrated digital engineering workflows.

This session will be delivered in Spanish.

Design for Additive Manufacturing in Automotive Engineering

Additive Manufacturing removes many of the geometric constraints associated with traditional manufacturing technologies — but this does not mean that every geometry is suitable for additive production.

To fully exploit Additive Manufacturing, engineers must rethink the way components are designed.

Design decisions must consider not only structural performance, but also:

• Build orientation

• Support requirements

• Minimum feature dimensions

• Material usage

• Production strategy

• Post-processing

• Manufacturing feasibility

• Cost

This session will explore how DfAM principles can be integrated directly into the engineering design process to create components that are lighter, more efficient and better adapted to additive production.

Topics

• Introduction to Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM)

• Design rules and manufacturing constraints:

  • Build orientation

  • Support structures

  • Minimum wall thickness

  • Part consolidation

  • Internal channels

  • Lattice structures

• Lightweight Design

• Topology Optimization

• Generative Design

• CAD–CAE–AM Digital Workflow

• Industrial case studies

Learning Objectives

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Apply Design for Additive Manufacturing principles.

• Redesign conventionally manufactured components for Additive Manufacturing.

• Consider AM-specific manufacturing constraints during the design stage.

• Apply lightweight design strategies.

• Understand how topology optimization can be integrated into the engineering design process.

• Understand the role of generative design in advanced product development.

• Evaluate manufacturing feasibility during component design.

• Make engineering decisions considering performance, manufacturability and cost.

From Conventional Design to DfAM

One of the fundamental challenges in Additive Manufacturing is avoiding a simple replication of parts originally designed for conventional manufacturing.

The objective is not merely to manufacture the same geometry using another process.

The objective is to redesign the component so that its geometry takes advantage of the capabilities of Additive Manufacturing.

The session will explore the transition from:

Functional Requirements → Loads & Constraints → Design Space → Topology Optimization → DfAM → Manufacturing Feasibility → Additive Production

This creates a direct connection between CAD, CAE and Additive Manufacturing, allowing engineers to evaluate performance and manufacturability as part of the same digital engineering workflow.

Engineering Beyond Traditional Geometry

DfAM enables engineering strategies that are difficult or impossible to achieve using conventional manufacturing methods.

Participants will explore concepts such as:

Part Consolidation

Combining several components into a single manufactured part, reducing assembly operations, interfaces and potential failure points.

Internal Channels

Integrating fluid, cooling or functional pathways directly into component geometry.

Lattice Structures

Using engineered cellular structures to reduce mass while maintaining structural performance or introducing specific mechanical behavior.

Topology Optimization

Using numerical optimization to determine efficient load paths and material distribution.

Generative Design

Exploring computationally generated design alternatives based on engineering requirements, constraints and manufacturing conditions.

Performance × Manufacturability × Cost

A successful DfAM component is not necessarily the lightest or most geometrically complex solution.

Engineering decisions must balance:

Performance × Manufacturability × Material × Process × Cost

This balance is particularly important in automotive engineering, where weight reduction, mechanical performance, production scalability and economic feasibility must be considered simultaneously.

A Live Automotive Engineering Master’s Session

This is not a standalone webinar.

Participants will be joining a real live session of the Master’s Degree in Automotive Engineering, together with the students enrolled in the course.

The objective is to connect engineering education, industrial Additive Manufacturing experience and the professional SOLIDWORKS community through a real academic engineering environment.

Because this session takes place during the regular Master’s class, only 10 places are available for external in-person attendees.

Everyone is welcome to join virtually.