You can
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

|
Minimum Member
Thickness
|
Specifies
the minimum size of an optimized substructure and the
required
units. The minimum member size must be greater than two to three
times the average
mesh-element
size. A coarse mesh and a fine mesh lead
to the same optimized topology
if
you specify
the
same minimum member thicknesses for both
cases..
|
|
Maximum Member Thickness
|
Specifies
the maximum size of an optimized substructure and the
required
units (optional). It is recommended that the average mesh-element
size is three to four times smaller than the
required
maximum member thickness. |
You may encounter convergence issues when you define one thickness control value
for either a minimum or maximum member thickness that is not within an acceptable
range. To resolve such convergence issues, specify both values for minimum and
maximum member thicknesses within a reasonable range.
The CPU-time for the calculation increases quadratically if the
mesh becomes too fine when member thickness controls are applied. To save
calculation time,
define
thickness
restrictions to
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.