nTop Platform 2.30 is here! This release gives you the ability to import and use the properties of bitmaps to drive variables in your workflow. These new blocks can also be used to generate 3D textures. In addition to usage improvements and bug fixes, this release also features a new export block called Export Slices to CLS, which gives you the ability to export slice stack data in a ConceptLaser file format. 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.

• Import Bitmap (Beta)

• Map Bitmap to Plane (Beta)

• Export Slices to CLS (Beta)

• Usage Improvements

• Bug Fixes

Import Bitmap (Beta)

• We’ve introduced a new block that enables you to import Bitmap files into nTop Platform. Using this block in conjunction with Map Bitmap to Plane gives you the ability to use the properties of bitmaps to drive variables in your workflows.
• Note: This first iteration supports importing .pngs only.
• Location: Beta > Utilities - Exchange
• Name: Import Bitmap
• Description: Import Bitmap file from an external location.
• Input 01: Path
  • Type: File Path
  • Description: System path of bitmap file.
• Input 02: Dot Pitch
  • Type: Scalar
  • Description: The distance between the dots of a png.
• Output: Bitmap
• Bitmap properties include:
  • Dot Pitch: Scalar
  • Length: Scalar
  • Length Count: Integer
  • Pixels: Integer
  • Width: Scalar

Map Bitmap to Plane (Beta)

• We’ve introduced this new block to give you the ability to drive the variables of your workflow using the properties of an imported Bitmap. One application demonstrated below shows how you can map bitmaps to create 3 dimensional textures.
• Location: Beta > Modeling - Utilities
• Name: Map Bitmap to Plane
• Description: Place a bitmap on a plane. Bitmaps are mapped from their center to the center of the target plane. Bitmaps are displayed in the viewport.
• Input 01: Bitmap
  • Type: Bitmap
  • Description: Bitmap file to map.
• Input 02: Plane
  • Type: Plane
  • Description: Plane to map the bitmap to.
• Input 03: Interpolation type
  • Type: Interpolation Enum
  • Description: Interpolation type used to convert a bitmap into a field.
• Input 04: Length
  • Type: Scalar
  • Description: Optional input to resize the length of the bitmap.
• Input 05: Width
  • Type: Scalar
  • Description: Optional input to resize the width of the bitmap.
• Output: Planar Image
• Planar Image properties include:
  • Alpha: Scalar Field
  • Bitmap: Bitmap
  • Blue: Scalar Field
  • Grayscale: Scalar Field
  • Green: Scalar Field
  • Hue: Scalar Field
  • RGB: Vector Field
  • Red: Scalar Field

Export Slices to CLS (Beta)

• We’ve introduced this new block to give you the ability to export slice stack data to a ConceptLaser (CLS) file format. With this block in beta, you can now export Slice Stacks as CLSv4 format to generate laser toolpaths for parts.
• Location: Beta > Utilities - Exchange
• Name: Export Slices to CLS
• Description: Export slice stack data to a CLSv4 file.
• Input 01: Path
  • Type: File Path
  • Description: Path to export CLS file to.
• Input 02: Slice stack
  • Type: Slice Stack
  • Description: Slice stack to generate CLS file from.
• Input 03: Build volume
  • Type: Bounding Box
  • Description: Build volume of the printer.
• Output: CLS slice data

Usage Improvements

• We’ve introduced a new property to Scalar Fields called “Normalized Field” so that you can easily normalize a scalar field to better maintain uniform wall thicknesses when you stretch geometry. The Normalized Field property description is as follows: ”A scalar field derived by dividing this scalar field by the magnitude of its gradient.”
• Graph lattices generated with the new lattice pipeline are no longer automatically trimmed to the boundary volume. You must now explicitly trim a lattice if that is the desired result. This behavior is now consistent with the way TPMS lattices are generated in the new lattice pipeline.
• Dictionaries now support vector fields.
• We’ve introduced a new lattice pipeline block called Cell Map on Quad Mesh. Using this block in conjunction with the Periodic Lattice Body block will result in the same outcome as the original Lattice Body from Quad Mesh block, which is still available in the new pipeline. Below is an outline of the new block:
  • Location: Beta > Lattices - Cell Map
  • Name: Cell Map on Quad Mesh (Beta)
  • Description: Create a cell map that is conformal to a quad mesh. Note that the underlying U,V field properties will not be continuous.
  • Input 01: Surface mesh
    • Type: Mesh
    • Description: Quad mesh that the cell map will be generated from.
  • Input 02: Offset
    • Type: Scalar Field
    • Description: Total length of the offset.
  • Input 03: Layer count
    • Type: Integer
    • Description: Number of cell layers that the domain will be subdivided into.
  • Output: Cell Map

Bug Fixes

• We’ve resolved an issue where the material frame wasn’t producing different results with homogenized or orthotropic materials.
• We’ve resolved an issue with notebook sections which was preventing you from duplicating blocks.
• We’ve resolved an issue with the Robust Tet Mesh block which was producing flipped faces.
• We’ve resolved an issue that was causing nTop Platform to unexpectedly exit when reparameterizing a CAD face.
• We’ve resolved an issue that was causing nTop Platform to unexpectedly exit when rerunning a workflow with a list of CAD faces.
• We’ve resolved an issue that was causing nTop Platform to unexpectedly exit when trying to visualize the density field property of an imported topology optimization result.
• We’ve resolved an issue that was causing nTop Platform to unexpectedly exit when using 0 in the Operand B input of the Mod block with an integer type.