Preliminary Investigation of Static and Dynamic Properties of SLM Lattice Structures for Robotic Applications

Lattice structures are of great interest for robotic applications due to their lightweight and their mechanical characteristics such as the stiffness and damping. However, lattice structures require special production processes such as 3D metal printing. In this research, lattice structures obtained by Selective Laser Melting of Aluminum were characterized in order to determine the influence of the cell geometry on the global dynamical properties of the sample. A Design of Experiments was conceived and applied to obtain different kinds of lattice structures. The effective geometry of the lattice structure was measured and the global static and dynamic characteristics were determined by pulse testing. The results show that lattice structure may allow a more effective and fast attenuation of mechanical vibrations in comparison to the full density material condition.