A Concept Towards Automated Reconstruction of Topology Optimized Structures Using Medial Axis Skeletons

Abstract

Through continuous topology optimization the design within product development of structural loaded components is enhanced by using maximized lightweight potential. At the same time the product development process is accelerated due to a reduced number of design cycles. Because topology optimization yields an optimized material distribution, the designer is not required anymore to iteratively work out the basical geometric shape. However, optimized material distribution itself neither follows design rules, nor does it provide parametric relations within parts. Instead, a redesign has to be done in order to fulfill manufacturing requirements and to obtain a parametric CADmodel. This takes effort in time and expert knowledge.

For the reason of a consistent development approach under assistance of computer aided methods, a concept is presented, that is demanded to solve the task of redesigning topology optimization results in parametric CAD-models in a semi-automated manner. To achieve this, medial axis skeletons are used for analyzing the geometric data firstly, and, in a second step, for rebuilding CADmodels. They are taken as references for common CAD-functionality whereby a parametric and history-based modeling structure is generated. Though open challenges exist in further automation and consideration of manufacturing techniques, this represents a basical approach on how to use the medial axis for reconstruction.