nTopology 3.34 is here! This release features our new capability to view the variable value when it is instanced by hovering over the variable chip and improvements to our lattice thickening along with 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.
View Variable Value
- We’ve added the capability for you to quickly view the value of a variable when it is instanced as a chip downstream. To view the current value, hover over the variable chip, which will display in the tooltip below the name (shown below).
- This feature is available for Scalar, Temperature, Integer, Vector, and Point variable types to start - we will be expanding it to other types soon.
An example of the view variable value feature.
Block Updates
- We changed the logic used to thicken the beams or faces of a Lattice. Before 3.34, when you provided a Scalar Field as the Thickness parameter to a latticing block, the lattice beams or faces were thickened by the Scalar Field. In 3.34, the Scalar Field values are evaluated only at beam or face nodes, and the beam or face thickness is interpolated between nodes.
- This change applies to the following latticing blocks:
- Periodic Lattice
- Rectangular Volume Lattice
- Cylindrical Volume Lattice
- Spherical Volume Lattice
- Trim Latticewhen the Rounded Edges input is unchecked.
- Lattice from Surface Mesh
- Lattice from Volume Mesh
- Voronoi Surface Lattice
- Voronoi Volume Lattice
- Branched Lattice
- Delaunay Lattice
- Orthofoam Lattice
A single lattice beam thickened with a Scalar Field in nTop 3.34 (left) compared to 3.33 (right)
- This thickening method improves Lattice generation and rendering times. Speed improvements will vary based on the model and thickness field. The brake pedal model displayed below now runs over 13 times faster in nTop 3.34 compared to 3.33.
A brake pedal lightweighted using a Lattice. The Lattice Thickness input is a Scalar Field generated from simulation results. In version 3.33, the Lattice is generated and rendered in 12.5 seconds. In 3.34, the generation and render time completes within 0.9 seconds.
Bug Fixes
- We fixed an issue where the progress bar would not update when running Slicing blocks.
- We fixed an issue with list values where the displayed number was incorrect.
- We fixed an issue where the context menu would not appear when selecting a Part List variable in the viewport.
- We fixed an issue causing nTop to unexpectedly exit if the output of the Cell Map from CAD Face block contained no cells.
- We fixed an issue causing nTop to unexpectedly exit when the output of the CAD Body from Quad Mesh block contained one CAD Face.
- We fixed an issue that was causing the Random Points on Mesh block to sometimes fail if one or more other instances of the Random Points on Mesh block were running.
- We fixed an issue with the computation of the average edge length of an FE Mesh when performing topology optimization with overhang and extrusion constraints. The update will not have a major effect on the optimization results.
- We fixed an issue with the Export Part block to be able to handle the Part List containing assemblies.
- We fixed an issue with the Export Part block to be able to write .stp files when selected.