FEA-Based Thickness in Materialise 3-matic

No time to watch the complete video? Jump to the topics of your interest with the time stamps below.

• Remesh 0:28
• Create lightweight structures 2:00
• Finite element analysis results 4:27

Remesh (Optional)

1. Perform a Remesh
   1. Ensure that you have an empty shell by selecting Remesh > Adaptive Remesh > Section List > desired section > Section > Enable Clipping
   2. Adjust positioning of the part to check for red sections displaying the empty interior
   3. Navigate to Remesh > Create Volume Mesh > select entity > >Apply
   4. Once it has been applied, you can view the volume elements within the part
2. Create a Volume Mesh
   1. Ensure that you have an empty shell by selecting Remesh > Adaptive Remesh > Section List > desired section > Section > Enable Clipping
   2. Adjust positioning of the part to check for red sections displaying the empty interior
   3. Navigate to Remesh > Create Volume Mesh > select entity > Apply
   4. Once it has been applied, you can view the volume elements within the part

Create lightweight structures

1. View the part’s volume that will be replaced by a graph by navigating to the Object Tree, selecting the part’s volume, and pressing Show
   1. Optional: Deactivate mesh by unselecting Smooth Shaded
2. View the unit cell by select Unit cell in the Object Tree, then click Show
3. Repeat the unit cell: Create Unit Graph > Select desired Graph set > Select desired graph size and Method > Apply
4. Assign initial graph thickness
   1. Under the Lightweights toolbar, select Graph to AM Build
   2. Choose your entity in the Object Tree and desired thickness under Operations > Graph to AM Build > Global AM Build Parameters
   3. Press Apply
5. Analyze lightweight structure
   1. Choose File > Export > ABAQUS
   2. Choose the entity and frame, then select Export volume mesh and further details under Operations
   3. Determine where you’d like to save the file under Output filename

Finite Element Analysis results

1. Import your file
   1. Under the Analyze toolbar, select Import File
   2. Below Operations > Import FEA Results, click Target model and Import report to select the files you’d like to import
   3. Click Apply
2. Show analysis results
   1. Navigate to Object Tree > entity > Analysis List > Average Values – Graph > Show
   2. Select Average Values – Graph below Properties to view the results
3. Apply thickness based on results
   1. Click the Lightweights toolbar, then FEA Based
   2. Choose your entity under the Object Tree, then select your graph from the Graph List
   3. Choose your result by clicking Analysis under Operations, then Object Tree > entity > Analysis List > Average Values – Graph
   4. Press Apply
4. Convert your graph to STL, if needed
   1. Navigate to Lightweights > STL
   2. Choose desired graph in Object Tree > entity > Graph List > desired graph
   3. Set your Accuracy below Operations > Graph to STL > STL parameters
   4. Click Apply
5. Use Smooth operation for improved result