Traditional design approaches don’t make the most of new manufacturing methods, like additive manufacturing, which are removing design constraints and opening up new possibilities. The optimal shape of a part is often organic and counterintuitive, so designing it requires a different approach. Topology optimisation lets you specify where supports and loads are located on a volume of material and lets the software find the best shape. You can now easily perform lightweighting of structures, extract CAD shapes and quickly verify the optimised design. You can also simulate spatially dependent materials like composite parts, 3D printed components, and bones and tissues for more accurate results.
Topology optimisation in ANSYS Mechanical allows you to:
- Take into account multiple static loads combined with optimising for natural frequencies (modal analysis)
- Satisfy requirements for minimum material thickness
- Observe rules around feature direction (for machining operations for example)
- Have scope for both cyclic and planar symmetry
- Easily validate results
The tools within ANSYS Mechanical for topology optimisation are fast, easy to use and included with all current licenses of the ANSYS Mechanical product family.
