Reduction of Fixation Points vs. Keep all Non-Design Spaces

MSC Apex Generative Design allows the user to create different result structures depending on the defined parameters such as Strut Density, Shape Quality and Complexity. Furthermore, the design can be changed by taking advantage of the capability to reduce unnecessary Non-Design Spaces and fixation points. This gives the 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 optimisation.

The software automatically figures out how many Non-Design Spaces - mainly for fixation points - can be reduced and how many need to stay. Naturally, Non-Design Spaces without any loads or fixations applied are reduced first by the stress-based 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 structure.

Inside the optimisation scenario set-up the Keep Non-Design Spaces function can be deactivated. By default it is activated for all Non-Design Spaces and Boundary Conditions.

If all Keep Non-Design Spaces are activated, each of them will be part of the new design.

By deselecting the Non-Design Spaces and Constraints, the optimisation algorithm is allowed to reduce them accordingly. If a Constraint is in direct contact with a Non-Design Space, both have to be deactivated.

The deactivated Fixations and Non-Design Spaces can now be reduced. They can also stay part of the new design if they are needed. If all Constraints and related Non-Designs are deactivated, at least one will stay and cannot be reduced.

Boundary Conditions can also refer to more than one surface/cell. In the following example it is one Fixation for four cells. If the Keep Non-Design function is deactivated for this one Constraint, the cells can be reduced accordingly. At least one will stay. If the function is activated all of them will stay.

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Generative Design - GD-Bracket