Application Brief
Ansys Topology Optimization Upgrades Designs to Take Full Advantage of 3D Printing
Most design projects begin with a basic idea of what the design should look like. The design is typically optimized by making incremental changes, such as adjusting the size or thickness of features to optimize characteristics like strength, weight and manufacturing cost. Product designers usually don’t even consider starting with a blank sheet of paper because of the impracticability of manufacturing random shapes and the time and cost that would be required to totally rethink the design.
The innovation of 3D printing has changed the design landscape by making it possible to build virtually any shape without regard for design-for-manufacturability rules. Now Ansys provides designers with the tool they need to take full advantage of these capabilities — automated topology optimization integrated with Ansys' full suite of multiphysics software. The new Ansys topology optimizer dramatically reduces the engineering cost and lead time required to design a new generation of parts or products that are optimized to reduce weight and manufacturing cost while delivering the same performance as the current generation.