In Inspire 2015, you can analyze multiple parts joined or mated together. In past versions, you can apply stresses and loads to individual parts for optimization. While these details are important for the final production, they often don’t affect the stress calculation, so it’s prudent to remove them from your geometry beforehand. Inspire has tools that lets you automatically identify holes and rounded edges to remove them or plug gaps and crevices that need not be considered in the optimization process. Simplifying your geometry is often the first phase of optimization. These small touches make it instantly clear what you can expect to happen when you execute a command on your geometry. For example, in the series of buttons available to simplify geometry, the hole-removal command is marked with a cube with a hole highlighted. But Inspire uses miniature 3D models to explain the functions of interface elements. Most software uses icons to communicate the function of a button or a command. Some characteristics of Inspire’s user interface (UI) make it incredibly easy to understand the purpose of each command. SolidThinking Inspire is one of the few programs I know that makes topology optimization accessible to average engineers and designers. Many operates on top a high-end simulation program, so you need competency in simulation before you can perform optimization. The learning curve for simulation software is steep enough most optimization software comes with even a steeper learning curve. It uses modern computers’ impressive number-crunching capacity to analyze your product’s geometry, then proposes alternative shapes (or optimized topology) to counter the anticipated stresses. The first discipline uses time-tested engineering principles, material science, and algorithms to calculate the effects of heat, stress, pressure, and wind on your product’s geometry. If you find simulation intimidating, you might find topology optimization doubly intimidating. Part redesigned based on the optimized shape.

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