For the optimisation we define different areas of the geometry. These are mainly Design and Non-Design Spaces.
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The Design Spaceis the most important space and complies with the imported/created solid CAD geometry. It includes any space where material is allowed to be or has to be, to provide maximal freedom for the algorithm. If the Design Space is limited, so is the optimisation algorithm and the optimisation potential is reduced.
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Void Spaces are spaces within your part where no material is allowed to be and free space for example for other parts of the assembly is needed. These spaces can be easily created with the Access Region and Clearance Region Tools. Especially for realising Part Consolidation these Tools assist to prepare the Design Space and the geometry for the optimisation.
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To realize a post processing of additive manufactured parts an a Machining Allowanceneeds to be considered for all functional surfaces. The Machining Allowance Tool helps to create these offset offsets automatically so that the optimisation directly produces a manufacturable design with offsets as well as the final geometry for the CAD/CAM system. Tip: Avoidance of stress rising on Design Space boundaries. Sometimes it is useful to reduce the Design Space a little bit for the optimisation by subtracting an offset. The optimisation is carried out with this reduced Design Space. However, the intersection afterwards is done with the originally defined Design Space in order to avoid sharp edges and thus stress risings. This way you avoid stress risings on the boundaries after you have combined your optimisation result with your original Design Space.