The Method of Transferring Topology Optimization Results Directly to the CAD System Database

The article presents a method of transferring topological optimization results directly to CAD system. The devel- oped method is based on sequential removal and addition of material, ignoring lesser fragments of the model. The input data includes coordinates of nodes imported from the model of finite element method optimized object. The algorithm is able to recognize geometry patterns during material addition and subtraction. Based on the results of the recognition process, individual 3D features are placed in CAD design tree (like „Feature Manager” design tree in Solidworks, used in the procedure described in the article below). Thus, the described algorithm allows for convenient and quick editing of transferred geometry of the optimized object directly in the CAD environment. The algorithm was tested on various examples of 2D and 3D models. The execution code of the presented method was written in Python programming language, and the macro for the CAD program was written in VB.NET. The proposed solution is independent of the optimizer used.