SLO |
ENG

News

Release of ProTOp version 6.2

Date: August 01, 2021

  • Reference node targeting in stress topology optimization; various reference node response values of individual load cases can now be used for targeting in topology optimization.
  • Improved response fields display; only selected volume regions and individual displacement components can be displayed now.
  • Updated mesh refinement tool.

Release of ProTOp version 6.1

Date: September 16, 2020

  • New integrated and more efficient FEA solver, especially in combined stress/eigenfrequency optimization.
  • Renewed topology optimizer, greatly improved for work with configured shell/lattice designs.
  • Much better surface export tools, especially smoothing procedures. Aggressive smoothing does not degrade the surface by making slender connections thinner.

Release of ProTOp version 6.0

Date: July 30, 2019

  • A new hybrid shape optimizer delivers smoother cut surfaces with lower stress levels; seamless transition from topology to shape optimization.
  • Greatly improved mesh refinement with localized improvement within volumes and along surfaces; mesh improvement and cleaning tools; mesh stripping tool for model reduction and shape optimization preprocessing.
  • A new session concept for more design freedom in prototyping and finalization; an intuitive session manager for easy handling of sessions and related operations.

Release of ProTOp version 5.0

Date: February 08, 2018

  • Completely renewed numerical engines, user interface, and internal data exchange formats for faster execution and more optimization options.
  • Great new tools like localized mesh refinement; more advanced optimization process management options; automatic load cases management; great optimization restart options.
  • Much more intuitive interface with more preview capabilities; easier definition of volume and surface regions; more intuitive work with configurators and technological constraints.
  • Renewed mesh smoothing procedures; new simplification tools for export of CAD acceptable surfaces.

Release of ProTOp/CI version 4.6

Date: December 05, 2016

  • A new surface mesh tool for triangle subdivision and improvement was added; now the resulting surface mesh can be smoothed much more effectively; especially useful for optimized lattice configurations.
  •   Important. As of this version, the licensing system is changed substantially; a new license has to be obtained from CAESS after installing this upgrade.
  • Picture: Hip implant in femur bone - shell/lattice configuration; smoothed with the new tool; cross-section view.

Release of ProTOp/CI version 4.5

Date: August 04, 2016

  • Completely restructured technological constraints processor; much faster and more accurate processing of all technological constraints.
  • Three new technological constraint types: BiUniDirOpen, PeriodAng, PeriodLin.
  • Geometry display control updates: updated scale panel; response fields coloring
  • Picture: Gear, optimized with the new PeriodAng constraint; SAE stress view.

Release of ProTOp/CI version 4.4

Date: May 07, 2016

  • Completely restructured driver, optimizer, and solvers: faster and more efficient in both, top-down and bottom-up optimizations.
  • Much more accurate computation of eigenfrequency sensitivities.
  • More efficient operation: faster entering into TC/Configuration tools and faster session start/restart.
  • Improved support for import from SolidWorks®; various fixes in geometry processor and interface.

Presentation of ProTop

Date: March, 2016

  • At the SAXSIM 2016 in Germany ProTOp was demonstrated in a presentation held by Urs Simmler, GIA Informatik AG, Switzerland.

Release of ProTOp/CI version 4.3

Date: December 21, 2015

  • Greatly renewed static and modal FEA solvers/optimizers. Especially for lattice structures under static loads the stress concentrations are now removed much more effectively.
  • Improved or added features: start-from functionality, cross-section view, step control, convergence indicator, parameters update during optimization.
  • PTC® Creo® integration is now available also for ProTOp.

Presentation of ProTop

Date: November, 2015

  • CAESS ProTOp was presented at the formnext 2015, an international exhibition and conference on additive technologies and tool making in Frankfurt, Germany.

Presentation of ProTop

Date: October, 2015

  • At the Audaxexpo2015 in Celje, Slovenia, ProTOp was demonstrated in a live presentation.

Presentation of ProTop

Date: October, 2015

  • At the PTC Live Worx 2015 in Japan ProTOp was demonstrated in a presentation held by Xinhua Ye, Ph.D., a CEO from Sentan Digital Co., Ltd. The presentation is available in Japanese.

Presentation of ProTop

Date: October, 2015

  • At the Technological Innovation and Materials Seminar 2015 in Tel Aviv, Israel, ProTOp was demonstrated in a live presentation.

Release of ProTOp/CI version 4.2

Date: September 27, 2015

  • Maximization of the lowest structural eigenfrequency by topology optimization is now possible by engagement of a new efficient eigenmode solver.
  • Updated functionality of the importer, input data management, and user interface simplifies the model preparation procedure.

Release of ProTOp/CI version 4.0.7

Date: July 31, 2015

  • Significantly upgraded configuration tools now enable tunable rounding of lattice crossings and lattice-shell interfaces. This prevents sharp edges in the regions, where the optimizer pushes the lattices towards the minimum- or maximum-thickness design.
  • The accuracy of the single-precision FEA solver was improved by reducing the effects of truncation errors. This extends the usability of this solver that is faster and consumes much less RAM than the double-precision version.

Release of ProTOp/CI version 4.0.0

Date: June 7, 2015

  • Completely renewed tools for managing material regions and technological constraints; material regions and TCs are now fully managed within ProTOp; improvements on lattice creation tool
  • Improved visualization of stress and displacement fields for easier work and optimization process control

Release of ProTOp/CI version 3.1.9

Date: April 26, 2015

  • The new CAD-Material functionality makes possible to run topology optimization a sub-model only. Meanwhile, the complete semi-assembly geometry can be exported, e.g., if needed for 3D print.
  • Upgraded lattice configuration tool: lower and upper range limits; cell lines subdivision; improved TCS visualization
  • Fixed CS extraction in INP importer; various minor updates and fixes

Release of ProTOp/CI version 3.1.8

Date: April 12, 2015

  • Substantially improved model configuration tools for easier creation and management of solid/shell/lattice configurations and their combinations
  • Several minor updates and fixes

Presentation of ProTop

Date: March, 2015

  • At the PTC Partner Technical Symposium EMEA 2015 in Spain ProTOpCI operation with PTC Creo was demonstrated live by Urs Simmler, PTC Switzerland.

Release of ProTOp/CI version 3.1.6

Date: February 27, 2015

  • The new smart start-from functionality allows now multi-million-models to be solved very efficiently on your desktop PC. Just
    • generate two FE meshes from your CAD model: a coarse and a fine one
    • start optimization and solve the problem with the coarse mesh
    • run another optimization with the fine mesh, but take the coarse-mesh-result as a starting design
  • The new load case monitoring and management feature lets you interactively deactivate/reactivate individual load cases on the basis of their impact factors that reflect their relative importance.

Release of ProTOp/CI version 3.1.4

Date: February 9, 2015

  • Computation time has been significantly improved in multi-load-case scenarios with uniform displacement BCs and absence of semi-contact/semi-plastic elements. Roughly, the computation is faster by a factor, equal to the number of load cases.
  • The source code for tetrahedral elements TTH4 and TTH10 has been optimized which results in improved performance.
  • Computation of stresses on cut surfaces has been improved in terms of accuracy.

Release of ProTOp/CI version 3.1.0

Date: January 14, 2015

  • Due to customer requests, specialized parabolic tetrahedron finite elements have been again build into ProTOp.
  • Computation time performance has been significantly improved in cases of RAM shortage.
  • Handling/control of compression and tension stresses has been simplified by providing the new signed averaged effective stress computation and display.
  • Proper modeling of screw/bolt/rivets fastening of the optimized part has been simplified by the introduction of the new material pre-strain feature.
  • The display has been updated to provide more accurate visualization of the results.

Release of ProTOp/CI version 3.0.0

Date: December 8, 2014

  • High-performance semi-elastic-plastic elements for topology optimization have been added in order to enable computationally effective usage of elastic-plastic behavior under monotonic loading.
  • The optimization control algorithms have been greatly improved to deliver better convergence - especially for lattice structures.
  • The optimization control panel has been redesigned to be more intuitive and simpler to use.