Apply member size restrictions for a topology optimization that prohibits
the creation of very thin or very thick regions that may be difficult to
manufacture.
To access the Thickness
Control PropertyManager:
The final optimized design adheres to the member size restrictions you specify.
- Right-click Manufacturing Controls, and
select Specify Thickness Control
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Minimum Member
Thickness
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Sets the minimum size of
an optimized substructure and the desired units. The minimum member
size must be greater than two to three times the average element
size. A coarse mesh and a fine mesh lead to the same
optimized topology if the minimum member thicknesses for both
cases are set to the same absolute value.
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Maximum Member
Thickness
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Sets the maximum size of
an optimized substructure and the desired units (optional). It is
recommended that the average mesh-element size is three to four
times smaller than the desired maximum member thickness. |
The CPU-time for the calculation increases quadratically if the mesh
becomes too fine when member thickness controls are applied. To save calculation
time, the thickness restriction should only be defined in the areas of the model
where very thin or very thick parts should be avoided. To identify these areas, the
first step is to perform an optimization without any member size
restrictions.