MSC Apex Generative Design allows the user to create different result structures depending on the defined parameters such as Sturt Strut Density, Shape Quality and Complexity. Furthermore, the design can be changed by taking advantage of the capability to reduce unnecessary Nondesignspaces Non-Design Spaces and fixation points. This gives the optimization optimisation more freedom and will create completely new designs. In some cases it even makes sense to consider part consolidation as another goal of the optimizationoptimisation.
The software automatically figures out how many nondesign spaces Non-Design Spaces - mainly for fixation points - can be reduced and how many need to stay. Naturally, Nondesign spaces wihtout Non-Design Spaces without any loads or fixations applied are reduced first by the stress-based optimization optimisation algorithm. No stresses occur in these and the surrounding area and therefore no material is needed. Of course there is a chance that these areas are being retained if they are exactly in the stress flow of the rest of the strutcurestructure.
For this reduction to be possible and take place, the definition of constraints needs to be applied as follows:
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As you can see in the image, all Nondesign spaces Non-Design Spaces which are fixations need to be collected in one constraint. You can also include several in more than one constraint - then one fixation will always be retained by the algorithm. The function Keep Nondesign spacesNon-Design Spaces needs to deactivated for the nondesign spaces Non-Design Spaces as well as the constraints to allow such a reduction. For nondesign spaces Non-Design Spaces without any boundary conditions this selection is enough. Per default the function Keep Nondesign Non-Design Spaces is always activated.
To make sure all the Nondesign spaces Non-Design Spaces and fixation points are included in the result, the function Keep Nondesign Non-Design Spaces can be activated.
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