What is the current status of Onshape + Generative Design?

andrew_kleinert

There's a colab YouTube video between Onshape and Paramatters dated Dec 2019 ...

https://www.onshape.com/en/resource-center/articles/whats-is-generative-design

... in that video they mentioned that an Onshape integrated app would be coming soon.  It's been nearly 18 months and there doesn't appear to be anything in the Onshape app store.

Meanwhile Onshape has been sold to PTC who appear to have their own Generative Design solution.  Are there any integration plans with that?

Is there a roadmap for native generative design within Onshape?

wayne_sauder

@andrew_kleinert
 As I understand it all collaboration with Parametters is dead. I use both neither seems to be moving in the direction of integration. I have heard rumors that there is some work being done within Onshape to offer generative at some point. 

S1mon

Perhaps you could explain what you would use generative design for? My impression watching the CAD industry for many years is that generative design is an interesting academic/technical concept in search of real applications. The forms which result are never manufacturable unless you use a 3D printer, which is also not a high volume production technique. Yes, there are a few demonstration projects here and there, and a lot of CAD companies make a lot of noise about their generative design tools, but there are hardly any actual products using generative design tools.

Most of my career has been working with clients from startups to Fortune 50 companies, taking products from concept into production. I've never heard of any client or ID partner suggesting we use generative design as part of the process.

andrew_kleinert

S1mon said:

Perhaps you could explain what you would use generative design for? My impression watching the CAD industry for many years is that generative design is an interesting academic/technical concept in search of real applications. The forms which result are never manufacturable unless you use a 3D printer, which is also not a high volume production technique. Yes, there are a few demonstration projects here and there, and a lot of CAD companies make a lot of noise about their generative design tools, but there are hardly any actual products using generative design tools.

Most of my career has been working with clients from startups to Fortune 50 companies, taking products from concept into production. I've never heard of any client or ID partner suggesting we use generative design as part of the process.

In this case it’s for a part that is conceptually a cylinder with inner and outer counter-rotating functional threads, made of a self lubricating / high wear bearing plastic.  (Igus provide materials and an SLS printing service for manufacturing parts with these particular properties).

The interest in generative design is to get the SLS print cost down by only printing the material needed.  I know that sometimes there’s an interest in getting weight down (eg: aeronautical / automotive applications) but that’s not a design criteria here.

This particular part is going into a high value / low volume product which can justify having an SLS printed part, but the potential benefit of cutting down the part price using generative design is worth exploring.

There are a few ways of potentially making this part, but I thought I’d explore what options there are for generative design.

 

andrew_kleinert

S1mon said:

My impression watching the CAD industry for many years is that generative design is an interesting academic/technical concept in search of real applications. The forms which result are never manufacturable unless you use a 3D printer, which is also not a high volume production technique.
.

Wouldn’t that be about how the generative design is constrained?  For example, a design could be constrained to a single plane, and the output would be something that could be die cut?

Ryan_McClelland

S1mon said:

Perhaps you could explain what you would use generative design for? My impression watching the CAD industry for many years is that generative design is an interesting academic/technical concept in search of real applications. The forms which result are never manufacturable unless you use a 3D printer, which is also not a high volume production technique. Yes, there are a few demonstration projects here and there, and a lot of CAD companies make a lot of noise about their generative design tools, but there are hardly any actual products using generative design tools.

Most of my career has been working with clients from startups to Fortune 50 companies, taking products from concept into production. I've never heard of any client or ID partner suggesting we use generative design as part of the process.

Using a lot of Generative Design at NASA using Fusion 360. Hope OnShape puts forth a good offering. Here is my ASME talk for reference. We've come a long way since then, especially with Generative Design for CNC. https://app.webinar.net/YJ1a6DYBMzl/on-demand

michael_zeagler

I wonder if this is in the pipeline now that there's linear static analysis natively within the platform. Onshape could bring some serious server horsepower to generative processes. I don't know much about fusion under the hood, but any optimization process benefits tremendously from parallelization, and I know they have a lot of cloud stuff going on. It's not my preferred cad package by any means, but it's one of the only accessible routes to play with generative design for fun prints.

eric_pesty

I believe they are working on "porting" the generative design tools from Creo to Onshape but not sure how long before we see something...