Model

A review of importing a model and entering material properties, design and non-design domains, and loads and boundary conditions

Import Model

The first step in the Model module is to upload the CAD model (.stp). After uploading the model, you will be able to view various volumes within your CAD model.

🚧 A proper CAD model is essential for a successful design process. Please refer to this article if you want to learn more about potential issues that may exist in the CAD model.

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💡 After completing each step, press to ensure your input is saved

Let’s save Save and continue to the Material Properties

Material Properties

Here, the isotropic or anisotropic material properties can be entered. The choice depends on the Material Properties option selected when you create the project in the Dashboard. Suppose an anisotropic material was selected when a project was created. In that case, the properties include the density, Young and shear modulus, Poisson ratio, and tensile, compressive, and shear strength. Within Novineer, we are providing you with the properties of a few materials. You can use one of these materials or create a new material and enter the properties. If you select the material provided by Novineer, all the properties are populated.

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Let’s Save and continue to Label Design

Label Design

Here, design and non-design volumes are selected. Novineer only performs the geometric optimization on the design domain.

💡It is good practice to ensure that there are non-design volumes where the loads and displacements are applied to ensure the correct assembly to the rest of the structure.

If you make any mistake in selection, you can use Shift-Click on a volume to de-select volume(s).

🚧 All volumes must belong to either the design or non-design volumes. There can be no duplicate, and there can be no volume that doesn’t belong to either of them

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The selection of design and non-design volumes, of course, results in changes in the optimized design. Please refer to this article to learn more about the effect of non-design volumes on the optimized design.

Next, we choose either a stiffness or strength-based design. Strength is a more complicated optimization process than stiffness, and it requires more elements to capture stress distribution.

Since the app only designs the design volumes, only the volume fraction for the design domain is needed. For example, the volume fraction for the torque link is 30%. which means we want the optimized design volume to be less than or equal to 30% of the weight of the original design domain.

The total weight of the optimized design =

Weight of (non-design volumes + volume_fraction ⊗ design volume)

Let’s Save and continue to Boundary Conditions

Boundary Conditions

Within Novineer, you can create up to three load cases. Within each load case, you can create up to 10 loads and boundary conditions.

🚧 All load cases must have at least one load and one support.

The loads are applied on a surface, and the unit is N/m². They can be applied in X, Y, and Z directions. To select the surface where the load is applied, click on icon beside the load number. Similarly, the displacement boundary conditions (support) are applied on a surface. The surface can be in X, Y, and Z directions.

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Please refer to this article if you want to learn more about the effect of applying loads in one load case or multiple load cases.