nTopology 3.28 is here! This release features our brand new solution to exporting latticing structures to CAD! The long awaited CAD Body from Implicit Body block is finally here! This release also contains updates to our toolkit blocks and some standard bug fixes. 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.

• CAD Body from Implicit Body (Beta)

• Usage Improvements

• Block Updates

• Bug Fixes

CAD Body from Implicit Body (Beta)

• We released a new block for generating a CAD Body from an Implicit Body. The CAD Body from Implicit Body (Beta) block is specifically designed for small to medium-complexity lattices. There are no hard limits, but the block is designed to handle:

  • Graph (beam or face-based): up to around 10,000 beams or faces
  • TPMS: up to around 1,000 unit cells

• Prior to 3.28, you were limited to mesh formats when exporting complex models such as lattices or textured parts. The CAD Body from Implicit Body (Beta) block unlocks the following use cases:

  • Generate a smooth (G1-continuous) solid part directly from an Implicit Body, avoiding the Mesh from Implicit Body and Quadrangulate Mesh blocks.
  • Export your lattice as a .step or Parasolid file and import it into your CAD system to modify for manufacturing, create drawings and assemblies, or perform other operations.
  • Store a .step or Parasolid file in your PLM system.
  • Deliver a .step or Parasolid file to your customers.

• If your model isn’t a lattice and you have a lower-complexity model such as the results of a topology optimization, we recommend that you continue to use the Quadrangulate Mesh block workflow for exporting.

• If you have a high-complexity model, we recommend using the Simplified Body Representation block

Example: An isogrid lattice of 896 faces converted to a CAD Body. You can export the part and import it into your CAD software for additional modeling.

Example: A gyroid implicit lattice with 288 unit cells converted to a CAD Body.

Example: A graph lattice with 1000 beams converted to a CAD Body

• Block Name: CAD Body from Implicit Body
• Location: Beta > Utilities > Conversion
• Description: Converts an Implicit Body to a CAD Body within a specified Tolerance. As the Tolerance increases, the CAD Body may contain fewer faces and generates faster. Works best for medium complexity Lattices and Implicit Bodies. For lower complexities, use Mesh from Implicit Body, Quadrangulate Mesh, then CAD Body from Quad Mesh. For higher complexities, use the Simplified Body Representation block.
• Input 1: Body - Implicit Body to convert to a CAD Body.
• Input 2: Tolerance - The maximum allowable distance deviation of the CAD Body from the Implicit Body. As this value increases, the CAD Body will have fewer faces and generate faster but deviate further from the lattice. We recommend starting with a value of approximately 1/2 of the body’s thinnest feature.

Usage Improvements

• We added “Learn More” documentation links to list errors to better help you troubleshoot.

Block Updates

• All toolkit blocks are now updated to use the new latticing blocks from the release in 3.26. Toolkit blocks that contained one or more of the old latticing blocks are now deprecated, and a new version is now released. For detailed information on each block, visit the Latticing Technology Transition Guide, and for an overview of the new latticing technology, visit Understanding our new latticing technology

• The following toolkit blocks are deprecated due to redundancy.

• We deprecated version 1.0.0 of the Implicit Body from CAD Body block due to a bug that produced incorrect gradients for the Implicit Body when the CAD Body input had curvature. This bug was especially noticeable when modeling Voronoi rib lattices: To generate these ribs, you can create a Voronoi Surface Lattice on a CAD face and then extrude ribs using the Extrude Lattice block. For the Direction input, you can use Implicit Body from CAD Body to create a Scalar Field that will extrude the ribs normal to the CAD face. However, the gradient bug in version 1.0.0 produced a poor quality lattice with jagged surfaces:

In 3.28 using version 1.1.0 of the Implicit Body from CAD Body block as the Direction input to the Extrude Lattice block:

Bug Fixes

• We fixed an issue causing nTopology to unexpectedly exit when using the Curve through Points block as the Curve input to the Sweep Profile block.
• We fixed an issue causing nTopology to unexpectedly exit when using an imported curve as the Curve input to the Sweep Profile block.
• We fixed an issue causing the version dropdown to be hidden from all blocks when a block was embedded.
• We fixed an issue that caused a variable created from the “Thickness” input of the Periodic Lattice block to be named “Unit cell parameter 1”.
• We fixed an issue exporting an FE Model with beam elements to Ansys. Prior to this release, the element blocks referenced an undefined coordinate system.
• We fixed an issue when exporting an FE Model containing Displacement Restraints or Point Restraints when a Frame input is provided. Prior to this release, the Frame was ignored.
• We fixed an issue with the displacement results in Homogenize Unit Cell block when the unit cell is not centered at the global origin.
• We fixed an issue accessing Field properties in the Import CFD Analysis Result block that may cause the software to unexpectedly exit.