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nTop Platform 2.24 - What's New

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Cayleigh McCreight

nTopology nTop Platform 2.24 is here! This release features some incredible new topology optimization features such as overhang constraints, an incremental save feature for results, and the ability to import results via the OP2 file format. In addition, 2.24 gives you the ability to create your own warning and error messages for custom blocks, tooltips for the search bar and notebook, improvements to nTopCL, and the ability to perform 2D bin packing using the new Bounding Box 2D Nesting block. As with every release, nTopology’s dedicated support team is ready to answer your questions. Please visit support.ntopology.com to gain access to helpful tutorials and support articles.

Bounding Box 2D Nesting (Beta)

  • Description: Performs a 2D bin packing of bounding boxes. Boxes that fit will be placed in order of size and the remaining boxes will be placed outside and next to the build volume.
  • Input 01: Bounding boxes
    • Type: Bounding Box List
    • Description: Bounding Boxes to be nested.
  • Input 02: Build volume
    • Type: Bounding Box
    • Description: Volume in which boxes are nested.
  • Input 03: Part to part offset
    • Type: Scalar
    • Description: Amount of tolerance between boxes during the nest process.
  • Input 04: Platform offset
    • Type: Scalar
    • Description: Offset distance between boxes and build platform in Z.
  • Input 05: Perimeter offset
    • Type: Scalar
    • Description: Offset distance between parts and the perimeter in XY of the build volume.
  • Output Type: Transformation list

nTopCL: Obtain Notebook with Cached Data

  • We’ve introduced a new nTopCL argument ‘--save’  or '-s' that overwrites the notebook with the input parameters and all block data generated during the nTopCL execution.
  • The intended use case of ‘--save’  or 's' is to allow users to check the results after running complex Notebooks using nTopCL or creating variations of the same Notebook via Python scripts.

Updated Simulation Error Messages

  • We’ve updated the error messages of several simulation blocks to be more informative. They are outlined below:
  • Block: FE Region by Body
    • Current Message: “No mesh entities were found.”
    • New Message: “No mesh entities were found within the given tolerance to the implicit body. Please try either increasing the tolerance or using a different body.”
  • Block: Tie Constraint, Structural Bonded Contact, Thermal Bonded Contact
    • Current Message: “Tolerance too low. No nodes have been constrained.”
    • New Message: “No dependent nodes were found within the given tolerance to the independent boundary. Please try increasing the tolerance if that is appropriate for * your model or using different independent or dependent boundaries.”
  • Block: Simulation Analyses
    • Current Message: “A mesh referenced in boundary condition list at position 1 does not match any mesh used in model.”
    • New Message: “An FE Boundary or FE Region references an FE Mesh that is not used in the model assembly. Please verify that all boundary conditions and regions reference the same FE Mesh as that used in the FE Model.”
  • Block: Simulation Analyses
    • Current Message: “Stiffness matrix is singular. Please check the FE Model.”
    • New Message: “Analysis is expecting a set up where all FEA bodies are constrained such that no rigid body motion occurs, but you provided an analysis set up which is not properly constrained. Please try adjusting your boundary conditions such that each body is properly constrained. "
  • Block: Remesh Surface
    • Current Message: “Growth rate must be greater than 1.”
    • New Message: “Growth rate is expecting a value greater than 1, but you provided {Value}. Please adjust the input such that it is greater than 1.”

Search Bar and Notebook Tooltips

  • Tooltips now appear for blocks in the search bar. Simply search for a block via a keyword in the search bar and hover your mouse or cursor over the title of the block to review its description.
  • Tooltips also appear for variable names and variable chips.

release1.png

Topology Optimization: Import Results via OP2

  • Users can now import topology optimization results via the OP2 format, which can be produced by tools such as Altair Optistruct using the Import Topology Optimization Result block, currently located in Beta > Analysis Exchange.
  • Import Topology Optimization Result (Beta)
    • Description: Import Topology Optimization Result file from a supported format.
    • Input 01: Path
      • Type: File Path
      • Description: System path of Topology Optimization Result file.
    • Input 02: Unit system
      • Type: Unit System
      • Description: The unit system of the external results. This will be used to consistently translate the external results into the active unit system.
    • Output Type: TopOpt Result

Topology Optimization: Overhang Constraints (Beta)

  • Users can now specify overhang angle constraints for a topology optimization workflow using the new Overhang Constraint block located in Beta > Topology Optimization.
  • Overhang Constraint (Beta)
    • Description: Setup a maximum overhang constraint for a topology optimization process.
      • Input 01: Build direction
        • Type: Vector
        • Description: Build Direction.
      • Input 02: Max angle
        • Type: Scalar
        • Description: Max overhang angle with respect to build direction vector.
      • Input 03: Support boundaries
        • Type: FE Boundary list
        • Description: Support boundaries which material can be placed onto.
      • Output Type: Optimization Constraint

release2.png

Topology Optimization: Selectively Save Results

  • We’ve introduced a new parameter to the Topology Optimization block that gives you the ability to incrementally save the results of your topology optimization routine.
  • New parameter: Save increment
  • Description: Controls the amount of data that is stored and accessible after the topology optimization completes. The default value of 1 will save results for all increments, whereas a result of 0 will save only the first and last increment. For any value, N, greater than 1, it will save results for every N increments.
  • Note: The last iteration will always be saved.

Validate Block

  • You can now create your own warning and error messages for your custom blocks based on a boolean value using the new Validate block, located in Create > Notebooks.
  • When this block is used in a notebook and the notebook is imported as a custom block, your custom warning or error message will appear in the information panel of your custom block just like they do for the blocks that come with nTop Platform.
  • Validate:
    • Description: Issues a user-defined warning or error message for a notebook imported as a block.
    • Input 01: Condition
      • Type: Bool
      • Description: Condition that must be true or it will produce a warning or error message.
    • Input 02: Message
      • Type: Text
      • Description: The message to be displayed as a warning or error in the information panel if the condition is false.
    • Input 03: Message type
      • Type: Message Type Enum
      • Description: The type of message to be displayed.
    • Output Type: Text

Usage Improvements

  • We’ve updated the look and feel of our support site at support.ntopology.com to improve the user experience and to make it easier to navigate and find relevant content. Check it out!
  • We’ve updated the look and feel of your user dashboard at app.ntopology.com to make it easier to navigate and find important account information and onboarding material. Check it out!
  • Vector Map and Point Map HUDs now show user-defined inputs.
  • We’ve updated the execution behavior of nTopCL to run Notebooks containing incomplete blocks with warnings now.

Bug Fixes

  • Buckling Analyses have correct units in the results now.

Keywords:

 new whats 2.24 
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