The image above shows the HyperXpert Viewer with all corresponding attributes exposed and in-use. The purpose of this page is to illustrate how to operate the HyperXpert Plot interface – how to show trendlines, manipulate the Plot interface, understand different Data Points, and the like. Each viewport entity is summarized in the sections below.
Tip
See the Smeared Stiffened Panel Sizing with HyperXpert training example to see these tools used to make a design decision.
The bulk of the HyperXpert Viewer is taken up by the Plot, which organizes the design results of the full factorial DOE in terms of weight vs. Design Variation (# Variables).
Plot Controls
The Plot Controls are located just below the Tree header, as indicated below.
The list below explains the function of each button, from left to right.
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Select Run Sets - Opens a table of HyperXpert Run Sets housed within the current Database. Select row(s) in the table to add to the corresponding Run Set results to the plot.
Note
The Run Sets shown in the plot will be listed under the Run Sets node of the tree, and can be included and excluded in the plot accordingly.
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Select Color Palette - Option allows you to select a different color palette to use for coloring identified data series. These are pulled from the Color Palette Library, which can be managed in the Legend Options of the traditional HyperX Interface.
Plot Options
The Plot Options are located in the upper toolbar of the Plot, as indicated in the image below.
Each option changes the appearance of the data in the Plot. They are described - in order from left to right - below.
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X axis - Use the dropdown to select which variable you'd like to plot on the x-axis. Since weight is always on the y-axis, this option is useful for identifying additional weight trends in the data, outside of Design Variability.
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Plot by - Use this dropdown to select which group of Zones you'd like to plot by: Run Set, Structure, or Set. By default, Run Set is selected, meaning each datapoint contains all Zones in the Run Set regardless of Structure or Set (and can therefore not be identified by Structure or Set). If you toggle to Structure, each datapoint contains all Zones in a Structure, regardless of Run Set. The same logic follows for toggling to Set.
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Point Size - Allows you to select the relative size of all Data Points shown in the Plot.
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Plot Area - Control whether or not grey bands and gridlines are shown in the Plot area.
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Autoscale - Click to automatically scale the current Plot to fit the window.
Tip
Double-clicking anywhere in the Plot area also initiates an autoscale.
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Curves - Use this option to choose to display the Pareto Frontier and/or Average trendline for each visible dataset.
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Average - Trendline representing the average weight value of the dataset as the number of unlinked variables changes.
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Pareto Frontier - Curve connecting all Pareto Optimal solutions in the dataset.
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Pareto Frontier Curve Points Only - Plot only pareto-optimum points (i.e. those touching the shown pareto frontier curves).
Tip
This is a way to quickly isolate the lowest-weight points at each x-axis value.
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Filter Points with Fewer Identified Constants - Plot only points with most # identified Constants. For example, if there is a data series with 3 identified Constants in the Legend, while all other series have only 1 or 2, selecting this option will remove all series except for the series with 3 identified Constants.
Tip
Use this option to isolate the designs only the most desirable combination of identified Constants.
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Filter Heavier Points - Plot only points with minimum weight per Constant dimension. In this case "dimension" refers to non-thickness and material variables - things like stiffener spacing, core height, etc.
Tip
This option is intended to help users quickly isolate designs that have "preferable" Constant dimensions - prioritizing identifying the lightest-weight designs with Constant dimensions such as stiffener spacing, core height, etc. over finding lightweight designs with constant thickness or Material.
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Show Design Variability - If enabled, will append the Design Variability values to the metadata listed in the point info for each point. The image below shows an example of enabling this capability:
The Tree, located on the lefthand side of the viewport, controls what Data Points are included/excluded in the Plot, as well as how they are colored. Each Material, thickness, and dimensional input to the DOE is a node on the Tree, arranged by the type of input. Likely of particular interest is the Variables section. Here, for each design in the toggled Run Set(s), all possible dimensions defined on the Design Property are listed for each variable. Clicking on the circle to the right of a dimension colors all Points that have designs that are constant at that value (this is known as identifying points – see Tree Selection Modes and Identifying Points). Clicking that circle a second time hides all Data Points that include that value (constant or not).
Tip
Turning off a particular Run Set will grey-out any corresponding variables in the Tree.
This tool is intended for engineers to use to filter and identify the data being plotted.
Tree Controls
The Tree Controls are located just above the Tree nodes, as indicated in the image below.
These options perform common tree operations in bulk. Explained in order from left to right:
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Collapse All Nodes - Click to collapse all Tree nodes that are currently expanded.
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Expand Nodes - Click to expand all nodes in the Tree by a single level.
Tip
Click multiple times to continue expanding.
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Reset - Returns all data and Tree nodes back to their starting point - shown and unidentified (i.e. all collected points are visible and grey).
Tree Modes and Identifying Points
The data belonging to each node in the Tree can exist in 3 different modes: Shown and Unidentified, Shown and Identified, or Hidden. Each are explained below along with an image of the Plot interface in the corresponding mode.
Included and Unidentified
By default, all collected Points are shown on the Plot. In the Tree, this is indicated by the filled, gray circles next to each node. Here, all Points are considered “unidentified,” since none of the variables in the Tree have been selected to characterize them. This is indicated by the gray color of the Data Points. Notice the corresponding gray "None" series in the Legend - indicated that there are no identified Constants characterizing these Points. As dimensions are selected and Points are identified, any points that are not constant at the selected dimension will remain unidentified.
Included and Identified
Clicking once on a gray circle will "identify" all designs that are constant at that dimension. For example, in the Plot shown below, clicking on the Spacing 3.25in circle causes all Points with a constant stiffener spacing of 3.25in to become colored. Notice the turquoise color of the Tree circle, as well as the addition of this series in the Legend.
Note
Other Points could (and likely do) include Zone(s) that have a stiffener spacing of 3.25in. The points identified - and therefore colored - by this mechanism are only the ones that are constant at that height. The Legend should be used to control Data Points with identified Constants.
As multiple dimensions become selected, additional series are added to the Legend. Points that are constant at multiple selected dimensions become their own additional series. In the example below, the engineer has chosen to identify Spacing = 3.25in, H = 0.8in, Angle = 65 deg, and Angle = 75 deg. Naturally, it is possible to have designs that are constant at any combination of the dimensions selected. These series are indicated by the paired variable lists in the Legend. Any Points that are only identified by one of the selected dimensions remain as their own separate series.
Excluded
Clicking on an identified Tree circle one more time will exclude all Points that contain that dimension anywhere in the design (i.e. doesn’t have to be constant by this dimension to be hidden by this action). In the image below, all points that have an Angle of 75 deg, constant or not, have been excluded. Notice there are less "Displayed" than "Collected" points (shown in the upper-righthand corner). This is another indicator that not all Points are being shown in the plot.
The HyperXpert Legend is found in the upper righthand corner of the viewer. This window contains the list and corresponding colors of all data series with identified Constants. Each series contains a checkbox next to its corresponding Legend color, which allows you to toggle between hiding and showing the entire series.
Important
Hiding/Showing from the Legend is different than hiding/showing using Tree nodes. As an example, unchecking the H = 0.8in, Angle = 60deg data series in the Legend will hide all points that have been identified as Constant at those two values. Conversely, hiding the H = 0.8in dimension in the Tree will hide all Points that contain a Zone with that dimension, constant or not.
Behind the scenes, the Legend is using a particular color palette to determine the color of each data series. Use the Color Palette option at the top of the Tree to select a different palette and alter the coloring of the Plot. You can also create a new palette from scratch in the HyperX interface to use instead.
The Point Grid – located at the bottom of the window by default – is used to tabulate the metadata corresponding to selected Points. This allows engineers to compare multiple Points of interest.
To add a Point to the table, click on the desired Point in the viewport. The selected Point turns neon-yellow to indicate that it’s been selected, and a row populates in the Point Grid accordingly. Notice that for the selected Point, the weight, # of Variables, and the values of the Constants populate the columns of the table.
Individual rows can be removed by right-clicking on the desired row. Clear the entire table using the broom icon. The current table can be exported to Excel using the adjacent “Export to Excel” option. Also note that a Design Property can be created for any point by clicking on the desired row and selecting “Create Design Property.”
In the example table below, the lowest-weight point for each #unlinked variables was selected for comparison.
The Anchor Point is shown in the top row. Here, all dimensions are variable. Therefore, it has the most blank cells (one for each Variable). In contrast, row 6 contains a point from the 0 Variables (all Constants) Point Cloud. Here, all columns are populated with the corresponding constant value for all dimensions. The rows in between these bookends show the progression from one to the other.
The Point Info table can be used to investigate a single Point of interest. Clicking on a single point in the viewport adds all of that Point’s corresponding metadata to this window. Use the "Create Design Property" option at the top of the table to automatically create a Design Property corresponding to this Point’s design.
Note
Sizing with this design in the HyperX will result in the same weight shown here – with the added benefit of reviewing Sizing results on the model, interrogating margins of safety, exporting to an updated FEM, and the like.