SOLIDWORKS 2019 What’s New – Topology Study – #SW2019
SOLIDWORKS 2019 enhanced Topology studies will include new options for design constraints, export of an optimized shape, and an option to save intermediate results.
… Oh, you’re still here? Well then, lets take this opportunity to look at these enhancements in more depth.
Upon browsing through the Topology studies Goals and Constraints feature you will notice 2 new sections; Frequency Constraint and Stress/Factor of Safety Constraint (see below).
The Frequency Constraint allows the user to constrain the geometry by choosing a mode shape and providing a limitation on its frequency (Hz). The mode shape is a determined by a few factors, one of which is the shape of the object. We enable Frequency constraint by inputting less than or greater than values or specifying a range of values. Each natural frequency associates to a mode shape and mode shapes do repeat as the frequency of vibration increases. If the geometry is altered in such a way that the 1st mode shape becomes correlated to different natural frequency (like the 2nd or 3rd etc) then we can continue to constrain a particular mode shape with Mode Tracking. With Mode Tracking off only the 1st natural frequency is constrained regardless of its mode shape.
Fortunately, Stress/Factory of Safety Constraint is much less abstract. We can limit SOLIDWORKS’ ability to alter the geometry by prohibiting the maximum stress (or factor of safety) from going above a specified value.
Not sure if you have ever read a topology joke before, so here’s one!
Might need to read that one a few times (I definitely had to). Back to our topic.
If you’re like me than you probably notice that the convergence graph is, well, uh, converging! And, like me, you might decide that the solution is good enough and don’t want to continue with the study.
We now have the power to stop the study when we want to and save results.
Once the solution is complete we export the smooth mesh, previously not possible, by right clicking on our plot.
I hope this part of the What’s New series gives you a better understanding of the new features and functions of SOLIDWORKS 2019. Please check back to the CATI Blog as the CATI Application Engineers will continue to break down many of the new items in SOLIDWORKS 2019. All these articles will be stored in the category of “SOLIDWORKS What’s New.”
Matthew Fetke
Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology, Inc
Design Innovation Month – October 2018
What is DI MONTH?
CATI is declaring October Design Innovation MONTH. We’ve created a month-long series of events and activities around design innovation especially for our customers. Attend a SOLIDWORKS 2019 event, enter our rendering contest, and learn about some cool tips and tricks at the daily online events. Plan your month at www.cati.com/design-innovation-month