Advancements in additive manufacturing have made designs possible that are beyond traditional human capability. Using advanced neural networks, engineers can now have their computers complete the difficult design work for them. The wind turbine tower shown was developed through a process known as generative design, in which finite element methods are coupled with evolutionary modelling to produce part geometries which are optimized for rigidity while minimizing weight. This wind turbine tower was 3D printed and tested for rigidity, where it achieved first place versus the tower designs of one hundred and sixty other Berkeley mechanical engineering students.

I ran sixteen generative design simulations in Fusion360 with a variety of different parameters for material properties, applied load cases, and more. To the left is a wireframe isometric view of the selected design, which was 3D printed out of ABS in three parts, which were then glued together.