Additive manufacturing is considered a key technology for digital
production. However, several barriers towards the broad industrial
application exist, e.g. the associated cost and the required experience
regarding the manufacturing process. To eradicate these barriers, the
complete digitalization of the value creation process is needed. In this
thesis, a digital, automated support structuredesign procedure is
developed. Topology optimization is used for design rule determination,
and the space colonization algorithm is adapted for the automated
design. The validity of the procedure is proven experimentally,
revealing sufficient mechanical performance alongside cost reduction at
medium to large production scales.