A Dithering Based Method to Generate Variable Volume Lattice Cells for Additive Manufacturing

This paper covers the principles of a novel method to efficiently spatially vary the size of tetrahedral cells of a lattice structure, based upon finite element analysis stress results. A dithering method, specifically error diffusion, is used to represent a grayscale stress fringe with variably spaced black dots. This enables linkage of the spacing between lattice cell vertices to stress level thereby providing a functional variation in cell density. This method is demonstrated with a simple test case in 2D and the steps involved for extension to 3D are described.