Glossary

Degree of freedom (DOF) — One allowed motion at a node of the finite-element mesh — three translations (UX, UY, UZ) and three rotations (RX, RY, RZ).

Display toggles — Buttons that show or hide the original geometry, the finite-element mesh, the toolpaths, the simulation results and the loads and restraints in the 3D viewer.

Edge factor (Min Edge Factor, Max Edge Factor) — Multipliers applied to the slice height to obtain the minimum and maximum edge lengths used by the mesher: Lmin = Fmin × h, Lmax = Fmax × h.

Face selection — Applying a load or restraint to all surface nodes that belong to analytical surfaces (planar, cylindrical, toroidal) that NoviPath identifies on the model.

Failure index (FI) — A scalar field computed from the local stress state and fiber orientation with the Tsai-Wu failure criterion. FI = 1 is the failure limit; the Safety card reports Max FI, the highest value in the loaded results.

Failure load — The applied load divided by Max FI — the load at which the part is predicted to reach its failure limit, assuming linear elasticity.

Load constraint — Additional DOF constraints applied on the same nodes as a load. They limit how the loaded nodes may move without replacing the force.

Project bundle — The folder where NoviPath stores the intermediate and output files of a project: the *.noviproj manifest, the .vtp result files and the labeled volume mesh.

Remote point — A coupling location, shown as a red sphere, to which the selected faces or shape are rigidly tied. A force applied at a remote point is transferred into the part; a moment is always applied about a remote point.

Restraint — A constraint on selected degrees of freedom of the selected nodes: Fixed, Pinned, Roller, Slide (Guided, Cylindrical or Slide depending on the selection) or Custom.

Safety factor (SF) — The inverse of Max FI: SF = 1 / Max FI.

Shape — A cube, sphere or cylinder placed on the model; the boundary condition (i.e. a load or a restraint) applies to every surface node that falls inside it.

Slice height (h) — The layer height of the print. Mesh edge lengths are defined as multiples of it.

Tsai-Wu failure criterion — The interactive failure criterion NoviPath uses to compute the failure index; it combines the tensile, compressive and shear strengths of the material in all directions.

Tray coordinate system — The global X, Y, Z axes of the GrabCAD Print tray. All load and restraint components are entered in this system.

Workflow steps — The four steps of a NoviPath simulation: Model Setup → Meshing → Loads & Restraints → Simulation.