Computational time and memory

A NoviPath simulation has three main stages: pre-processing, solving, and post-processing. Mesh size and toolpath geometry both affect the time and memory required for the solution run.

Pre-processing: Boundary conditions are applied to finite-element nodes, and material orientation is mapped from the toolpaths onto the mesh. Time depends on both mesh size and toolpath size. Curved parts, thin-walled parts, and parts whose toolpaths are not long straight passes take longer. Those same geometries also need more elements through the thickness, which further increases cost.

Solver: Solver time and memory depend on the finite-element mesh — its size and connectivity — not on the toolpaths. Time scales with the number of nodes and the degrees of freedom at each node.

Post-processing: After the solve, stresses and displacements are available at every location in the mesh. This stage computes failure index from each element’s stress and fiber orientation, then safety factor as 1 / Max FI. On larger meshes that takes longer because every element is processed. This stage also writes the visualization files; file I/O time grows with mesh size.

If a solve runs out of memory, see The simulation fails or runs out of memory.