technoLike other big-name CAD makers,
SolidWorks also includes topology
optimization capabilities within its CAD
software.
“We expect the computing platform to
anticipate your design goals,” says Bassi.
But, Vlahinos adds, the AI in those systems
is used for simulation rather than for design.
It’s by continual simulation that the designs are
found. The tools allow the engineer to skip all
the step-by-step analyzing. The human is still
involved in the process and must validate the
simulation the CAD system returns.
“The generative process could get you plus
or minus 15 percent of the real answer but
with 2 percent of the effort,” he says. “So, you
know how to make the heat exchanger this
way or that way – you’ve isolated the design
alternatives and you can find them right away
and validate.”
Even though the tools function through
simulation, “You get amazing design insights
and design innovation so you can see how
something can be done,” he says.
But Vlahinos cautions against relying fully
on the current AI-enabled CAD optimization
tools.
“They are not simulation replacement,”
he says. “Don’t let the vendors oversell them.
They are design guidance, like a spell checker
for you design concept. But they do give you
more amazing results.”
Still, by helping engineers more quickly
meet their prescribed design specifications,
AI also frees up time engineers can spend
focusing on other aspects of the piece—like its
inherent shape or its artistic merits.
And – with proper validation in place
-- these tools can help ensure parts will meet
manufacturing specifications and allow for
much quicker design than traditional methods.
It also can create unorthodox, sometimes
never-before-seen-shapes that can be
manufactured through 3D printing.The engineer as artist
Design for manufacturability, as it’s called,
is of course an important—some might say
bedrock—necessity. AI techniques have a role
to play in other aspects of design. And some
of its uses may not have been conceived of
yet, as CAD makers focus on these first AI
implementations, Vlahinos says.3D CAD114 August 2019 http://www.designworldonline.com DESIGN WORLD
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