Automating Isogrid Design for Axially Symmetric (and Symmetric-ish) Surfaces in 3DEXPERIENCE Pattern Shape Creator

It's been a busy few months but I have FINALLY finished my #3DEXPERIENCE #CATIA 3D Pattern Shape Creator project to create proper isogrids on revolved (and more or less revolved) surfaces.

You may have seen some posts that look nearly exactly like the one attached to this post, but after remembering some trig, learning some new formulas, and getting those into the xGenerative Design visual scripting interface, we're golden.

Many folks may be wondering "What are isogrids, and why are they desirable?" which is totally fair! Isogrids are a structural effect that can be placed on a surface which accomplishes both lightweighting and increased strength. Think of it like corrugated cardboard -- it's substantially stronger than just 3 sheets of cardboard, the corrugation is just on the outside.

These alone are desirable properties, but when you add manufacturing methods like fused filament fabrication (FFF) to the mix, the specifics of that manufacturing method add MORE strength to the part by increasing the length of the perimeter within a given area.

Isogrids are not the most difficult thing to apply to a planar surface, it can be achieved with basic patterning techniques in most solid modelers. Applying an isogrid structure to a round shape, however, is very difficult. Most modelers require you to create these one-by-one to specific parts, which is time consuming and frankly not always possible with what CATIA folks might call ordered design tools (i.e. the new state of a part consumes the previous state of the part).

Not only is the xGenerative Design application a disordered design tool (i.e. all states created in the design are accessible at all times), but it is also pattern focused allowing one to simultaneously create and manage several design features.

The best part, though, is I never have to do this again. xGenerative Design allows me to save my design sequence and reuse it on ANYTHING I pull into xGen again! I can even share this feature with my colleagues and #BattleBots teammates to make more effective lightweight parts.

I can even organize my design tree and keep parameters off to the side so I can experiment with designs:

Is the process perfect? It is not. This is still advanced design, and there needs to be some user input. For instance, there are some very-close-but-not-coincident intersections which can cause nodes to overlap. There is still some tedium in determining which of these spheres to delete, and whether one might even want the spheres in their design at all!

This is, however, an extremely powerful and largely automated process to create lightweight reinforced parts.

If this is a workflow that looks suitable for your purposes or you're just plain ol' curious, reach out to me here.

Happy New Year! Time to get out the planar features next.