On the need for a design ontology within [am] additive manufacturing

This paper will discuss, via reasoned argument, the need for the development of a design language in additive manufacturing. Moreover, there is a generally accepted view that it is Designers, Design Engineers and, indeed Manufacturing Engineers who envisage and bring into being new products. Consequently, they decide how the products are going to be made either via traditional manufacturing technologies, new AM technologies, or some appropriate combination of the two. In doing so, they will need new tools to assist in the design / development decision making process. In order to evolve such a tool, they will need an AM “language” or ontology that will assist designers and engineers to creatively shape their thinking / Mental Models as they adopt AM technologies. We argue that by allowing them to sort through, compare and contrast exemplars of AM technologies and traditional manufacturing technologies this will assist in their design decision making processes. These exemplars would be based on “Real Models” to enhance their Mental Models. In the paper we propose a tool that would be based on both an evolving AM ontology and on various aspects of TRIZ methodologies, allowing them to both evolve new products and the AM ontology itself. We argue this tool will serve to enhance the creative product development design process