Abstract
Recently, design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) technology has become a prominent design methodology for exploiting 3D printing, which leads the Fourth Industrial Revolution. When manufactured by the 3D printing method, it is possible to produce several shapes compared to the conventional casting or cutting process. DfAM-as a newly-proposed design methodology-can be used to specially design products with various shapes to apply functional requirements. Topology optimization verifies load paths to determine the draft design, and a shape-optimized design with objective functions for weight reduction enables efficient lightweight product design. In this study, by using these two DfAM technologies, a lightweight and optimal design is constructed for a node part of a vehicle body with a space frame designed for a lightweight vehicle. DfAM methodologies for concept design and detailed design, and the associated results, are presented. Finally, the product was additively manufactured, a fatigue performance test was performed, and the design reliability was verified.