Term of the Moment
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Definition: automatic design optimization
Using the computer to achieve the most efficient design of a product. Finite element analysis (FEA) and other methods are used. In the past, design engineers have performed a combination of manual and automated methods to accomplish design optimization. They have applied FEA to parts of a CAD drawing, determined what components needed work and then redrew the object manually. Increasingly, software that is tightly integrated with the CAD program can perform the analysis and automatically redraw the object. See FEA.
Automatic Redraw
PTC's Pro/MECHANICA, which does not use FEA, actually redraws the optimized image when it is used in conjunction with PTC's Pro/ENGINEER CAD software. It can also perform analysis on CAD files from other platforms without the automatic redraw. This picture shows the before and after views of an optimized fuel injector nozzle. (Image courtesy of PTC.)