The polylines are imported into Robot Millennium a Finite Element Analysis software package where component parts, such as ribs and spars, are designed based on stress analysis.
The software package is a graphical user interface which allows structural elements and shapes to be imported for analysis. A mathematical model is created of the structure (FEA) and the solution of simultaneous equations from each element provides the output with regards to deflection, stress etc...
FEA uses a system of points called nodes which make a grid called a mesh. This mesh is programmed to contain the material and structural properties which define how the structure will react to certain loading conditions. Nodes can be assigned at a certain density throughout the material depending on the anticipated stress levels of a particular area. Regions which will receive large amounts of stress usually have a higher node density than those which experience little or no stress.
The mesh acts like a spider web in that from each node, there extends a mesh element to each of the adjacent nodes. This web of vectors is what carries the material properties to the object, creating many elements.
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Input: Polylines are imported as a *.dxf into Robot. |
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Output: Color guide to different sections attributed to bars. |
