nTopology 3.3 is here! This release features the Sharpen Mesh block that preserves the sharp features of your target geometry for downstream FEA operations. It also features the Lattice Body from Surface Voronoi block which provides a list of mesh “patches” that represents each generated Voronoi Surface Cell. In addition to these new blocks, we’ve implemented interactivity capabilities to the Ramp, Linear Map, and Add/Min/Max List blocks to enhance the GPU acceleration experience. Lastly, we’ve made it easier to name a variable and to change its output type. 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.

• Sharpen Mesh (Beta)

• Lattice Body from Surface Voronoi (Beta)

• Voronoi Overload: Extend Open Lattice Body Beams (Beta)

• Voronoi Overload: Modify Lattice Body Thickness (Beta)

• Interactivity Improvements

• Usage Improvements

• Bug Fixes

Sharpen Mesh (Beta)

• In nTopology 3.3, we are releasing the Sharpen Mesh (Beta) block to augment the capabilities of the Mesh from Implicit Body by Voxels (Beta) block (MflBbV).
• In nTopology 2.27, we introduced the Mesh from Implicit Body by Voxels (Beta) block (MfIBbV), which converts an implicit body to a mesh using voxels. Unlike the older Mesh from Implicit block, the output from MfIBbV is guaranteed to have no self-intersections. However, sharp features were not preserved, limiting its use in FEA and CFD simulations that require sharp features. This is why we are now introducing the new Sharpen Mesh block.
• For best results, when running the MfIBbV block, set the tolerance low enough–approximately a quarter of the minimum wall thickness–such that each sharp feature is well-defined, and keep the Simplify option unchecked (you can always simplify after sharpening using the Simplify Mesh by Threshold block).
• By default, the sharpening algorithm will run once, but you can change the Max iterations input. If you’re not satisfied with the output, first try increasing the number of iterations and then lower the tolerance set in the MfIBbV block.
• Location: Beta > Modeling - Utilities
• Name: Sharpen Mesh
• Description: Sharpen a mesh generated by the Mesh from Implicit by Voxels block. For best results, uncheck the Simplify option in the Mesh from Implicit by Voxels block and make sure the tolerance is low enough such that each sharp feature is well-defined.
• Input 01: Mesh
  • Type: Mesh
  • Description: Mesh generated from the Mesh from Implicit by Voxels block.
• Input 02: Body
  • Type: Implicit Body
  • Description: The implicit body used to generate the input Mesh.
• Input 03: Max iterations
  • Type: Integer
  • Description: Maximum number of sharpening iterations. A higher number will produce a sharper result, but will increase the runtime. 1 to 10 is recommended.
• Input 04: Remeshing
  • Type: Mesh Sharpening Enum
  • Description: Adaptive remeshing to improve capturing detail around sharp features. Selecting a remeshing option will increase the runtime.
• Output: Mesh

Lattice Body from Surface Voronoi (Beta)

• We’ve introduced a new surface lattice type: the Voronoi Surface Lattice Body.
• The current Voronoi Surface Lattice Body (Beta) block has been re-named to Lattice Body from Surface Voronoi (Beta), and it outputs the new object type Voronoi Surface Lattice Body.
• The Voronoi Surface Lattice Body is the functional Lattice Body equivalent of Voronoi Boundary Lattice, but provides a new property called Voronoi Surface Patches. This is a list of mesh “patches” that represents each generated Voronoi Surface Cell. Each “patch” of meshes is a new mesh that is recalculated from the triangle distribution of the original input mesh for the Voronoi Surface Lattice Body.
  • As is typical of meshes, each “patch” comes with its own set of referenceable vertices and edges based on the triangle distribution.
  • Applying Implicit Body from Mesh and Thicken Body allows a thickened implicit representation of each patch that can be referenced for downstream use.
• Location: Beta > Lattices - Generate
• Name: Lattice Body from Surface Voronoi
• Description: Create a Voronoi Surface Lattice Body from the Voronoi diagram of a list of Points restricted to the surface boundary of a body.
• Input 01: Seed points
  • Type: Point list
  • Description: List of Points to generate the Voronoi Lattice Body from.
• Input 02: Thickness
  • Type: Scalar Field
  • Description: Lattice thickness.
• Input 03: Mesh
  • Type: Mesh
  • Description: Mesh to generate the Voronoi Lattice Body on.
• Output: Voronoi Surface Lattice Body

Voronoi Overload: Extend Open Lattice Body Beams (Beta)

• Name: Extend Open Lattice Body Beams
• Location: Beta > Lattices - Utilities
• Description: Extend open beams within a voronoi volume lattice body.
• Input 01: Voronoi lattice
  • Type: Voronoi Volume Lattice Body
  • Description: Voronoi Volume Lattice Body containing open beams to extend.
• Input 02: Distance
  • Type: Scalar Field
  • Description: Distance to extend the open beams.
• Input 03: Body
  • Type: Implicit Body
  • Description: Implicit body defining the beam selection region.
• Input 04: Region
  • Type: Selection Region
  • Description: Option to select beams inside, outside, or touching the surface of the implicit body.
• Input 05: Tolerance
  • Type: Scalar
  • Description: Tolerance value to use for determining when beams are inside, outside, or on the boundary of an implicit body.
• Output: Voronoi Volume Lattice Body

Voronoi Overload: Modify Lattice Body Thickness (Beta)

• Name: Modify Lattice Body Thickness
• Location: Beta > Lattices - Utilities
• Description: Modify the thickness of a voronoi volume lattice body.
• Input 01: Lattice
  • Type: Voronoi Volume Lattice Body
  • Description: Voronoi Volume Lattice body which the thickness modification will be applied to.
• Input 02: Thickness
  • Type: Scalar Field
  • Description: New thickness field
• Output: Voronoi Volume Lattice Body

Interactivity Improvements

• The following blocks are now interactive and utilize GPU acceleration, which is currently in Beta:
  • Ramp
  • Linear Map
  • Add (List Types)
  • Min (List Types)
  • Max (List Types)
• For all inputs that drive interactivity in the viewport, the scrubber icon will appear solid, while inputs that do not drive interactive previews will appear as an outline.
• To enable GPU Acceleration, go to File > Settings > General and check “Enable GPU acceleration (beta).

Usage Improvements

• We’ve updated the Notebook header section. New notebooks will be titled “Untitled Notebook” by default. The Autobuild and Imported Blocks window buttons were moved to the right of the Search. The Search Bar has been updated to include a magnifying glass icon and the language has been updated from “Add block” to “Search blocks”.
  
  
  
  
• We’ve updated the “Make Variable” functionality so that the variable name text is pre-selected so you no longer have to navigate to the block to modify and or commit to the text changes.
  
  
  
  
• We’ve updated the variable naming, so that if you have a short variable name and you start to write a longer variable name, the name space will expand and continue to follow the text so that you can see what you are typing.
• We’ve added an arrow to all variable type icons (when the type can be changed) so that it’s more intuitive and easier to understand when and where you can change the output type.
  
  

Bug Fixes

• A new version of the Von Mises Stress Point Map has been released to correct an error in the von Mises stress values in versions 3.0, 3.1 and 3.2. Opening existing files with this block will force the updated calculation. The error impacts the output of the Von Mises Stress Point Map and the visualization of the Von Mises stresses in the HUD. Stress Constraint and Stress Response blocks are unaffected.
• The “Match Units” operation is now accessible again from the block right click menu.
• The “Make Variable” operation was missing and is now available again via a block’s right click menu.
• We’ve resolved an issue that was causing nTopology to unexpectedly exit when clicking on an empty input of the Rotate Object block.
• We’ve resolved an issue that was causing nTopology to unexpectedly exit when importing custom blocks from the “My Custom Blocks” library via the Add block.
• We’ve resolved an issue that was causing variable chips containing Japanese characters to be scrambled.
• We’ve resolved an issue where you were unable to edit the Grid Size and Primary Spacing of the Display Grid.