For the optimisation we define different areas of the geometry. These are mainly the Design Space and Interfaces.
The Design Space is 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.
Interfaces are all functional faces of a model so all faces where boundary conditions are applied to. With the Interface Tool these faces are selected to create both Non-Design Spaces and Machining Allowances.
The Non-Design Space contains the necessary geometries of the part. Any part for which you need a clearly defined geometry should be a Non-Design Space. To create Non-Design Spaces either the Interface Tool can be used or in case of complex geometries already existing cells can be selected with the Non-Design Space Tool. In this event the functional faces of the Non-Design Space still need to be selected in the Interface Tool to guarantee that this geometry is part of the result through an intersection. All faces of Non-Design Spaces without an Interface will be reduced a little bit so that the structure is integrated smoothly into the bionic design. Cells are partitions of the Design Space. They can be created with the split tool, directly in the Non-Design Tool or with a Boolean operation using two or more solids.
To realize a post processing of additive manufactured parts a Machining Allowance needs to be considered for all functional surfaces. These can be created in the Interface Tool so that the optimisation directly produces a manufacturable design with offsets as well as the final geometry for the CAD/CAM system.
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.
Intersections are necessary after each optimisation to get the defined surfaces of the Non-Design Spaces as well as the printing geometry with Machining Allowance. These defined shapes are needed for example for the post processing of the manufacturing process. The intersection is done automatically for every iteration and can be seen in the Post Processing.
Information regarding Excluded and Retained Volumes of the GD-Configuration Tool here.
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