Generative Design: The Changing Nature of Product Development
A Complimentary CIMdata Educational Webinar with Dr. Keith Meintjes, Executive Consultant, CIMdata, Inc. and Dr. Ken Versprille, Executive Consultant, CIMdata, Inc.
To be introduced by Dr. Ted Blacker, Manager Simulation Modeling Sciences, Sandia National Laboratories
September 7, 2017
11:00 EDT | 08:00 PDT | 17:00 CET
Replay Webinar About our Speakers
Do any of the following statements sound a little too familiar?
- Generative design tools are too hard to use.
- They do not properly support the processes they are supposed to enable. For example, most of them cannot communicate geometry in a form that is usable in CAD and other downstream tools.
- This work is best done very early on in the design concept process, but most companies do not have the required skills for CAD, CAE, and Manufacturing assigned in the right place at the right time.
Generative Design is a term for a class of tools that create or modify design geometry based on non-geometric requirements or constraints on product performance. In this regard, Topology Optimization (TopOpt) is the poster child. In CIMdata’s view, Generative Design (GD):
- is the use of algorithmic methods to transform requirements into product geometry and design
- often includes optimization within constraints
- is not necessarily based on physics (nor on natural organic processes)
GD includes not only TopOpt, but also rules-driven parametric CAD and a host of other tools for optimizing cost, weight, stiffness, strength, natural frequency, and other performance criteria.
This way to generate geometry (and other design attributes) is extremely important, for it takes us out of the current paradigm of creating, and then evaluating, CAD. Rather than “Does this shape meet the requirements?” we are asking, “Which shape best meets the requirements?”
TopOpt and other GD tools were invented decades ago. So, why now all the excitement? Well, computers by comparison have become infinitely fast and relatively inexpensive. Also, the recent rise of new materials like composites and new manufacturing methods like additive, or 3D printing, offer new possibilities. Prof. Dr. Kristina Shea (now at ETH, Zurich) put it very well in 2005, “Integrated performance-driven generative design systems are aimed at creating new design processes that produce spatially novel yet efficient and buildable designs through exploitation of current computing and manufacturing capabilities.”
In this webinar we will summarize the state of the art for GD tools and the processes they enable. Also, the future: There is now great interest in the topic from researchers, academics, and software providers. What is the thrust of the new developments? Case studies will be shown that represent a wide range of applications in different fields like architecture, civil engineering, and mechanical design.
What will I learn by attending this webinar?
- You will understand what Generative Design is.
- You will learn what the major software providers are doing to make the software easier to use and to better support the required processes.
- You will start to understand the importance of process, people, and organization, in addition to (software) the technology.
What are some of the leading GD proponents saying?
"I firmly believe that Topology Optimization (TO) with additive manufacturing will revolutionize the way many products are developed and engineered. Not only are the TO design geometries beyond the capability of a human designer to produce, but the design effectiveness is almost always superior. And it’s not just a point design. The explorable design space starts exploding. Adjusting prioritization of different load cases, different physics, including uncertainties, adjusting for manufacturing constraints on various machines and even creating and using custom materials via lattice-type metamaterials – this all becomes part of a viable design exercise. And frankly, we are just beginning to understand the power of this transformation." Dr. Ted Blacker, Sandia National Labs
"Some, like me, believe that this move to Generative Design will revolutionize product design and development. In a relative sense, computing has become infinitely fast and vanishingly cheap, so we can now easily use heuristic brute-force methods to search for optimums. Also, Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing) promises the capability to make parts that were previously infeasible to produce." Dr. Keith Meintjes, CIMdata, Inc.
Who should attend?
- Engineering executives and managers
- Product development planners and product line managers
- Team leaders and users of modeling and simulation technologies
- Manufacturing engineers
- Solution providers
- Anyone else who wants to learn more about this incredibly cool technology!
During the webinar you’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions about the topics discussed.