Additive manufacturing is a disruptive technology that can be leveraged
by the redesign of components in most engineering fields. Fundamental
engineering resources for lightweight mirrors were developed more than
30 years ago with a main design limitation, state of the art
manufacturing. Here, we present two design methodologies for the
design of lightweight mirrors. The first method utilizes analytical
expressions to design a traditional isogrid mirror, which provided the
foundation for most lightweight mirrors to date. The second method
employs a combination of topology optimization, lattice infill, and
analytical estimation to develop an advanced lightweight mirror
designed for additive manufacturing. The advanced mirror design
outperforms the traditional design for each functional requirement,
including a 94% reduction in predicted surface quilting and a higher
specific stiffness. The manufacturing of the advanced mirror is only
possible with an additive manufacturing process.
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