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HyperX and The Digital Thread

Traditionally, structural design involves collaboration between varying disciplines and teams using different, often unconnected, software tools. Even with modern model organization practices where the design is maintained in a PLM system, engineers may end up passing critical information to each other with slideshows, spreadsheets, and countless emails. This challenge is particularly prevalent between FEM and CAD disciplines, which often use vastly different model representations of the same part. It can be a real headache at times, especially when it slows down a project or introduces mistakes.

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The Digital Thread represents an alternative approach: a continuity of design data between analysis, design, and manufacturing disciplines. Simply put, the FEM, sizing, and CAD are all in sync with one another throughout development. Implemented correctly, that continuity increases efficiency and decreases the likelihood of errors, allowing more projects to finish on budget and on schedule.

HyperX's role in the Digital Thread has been a major focus for Collier Aerospace in recent years. We’ve made a lot of developments to improve HyperX's integration with industry standard tools in a variety of disciplines. This article provides an overview of the strides we made in HyperX's integration with CAD/CAM and Composites software so it can become a better piece of your Digital Thread.

Introduction

The main obstacle for fitting into the Digital Thread is that every thread – that is, every workflow – is different. Our goal with HyperX is to open up our infrastructure enough that it will fit into any workflow more seamlessly.

HyperX’s role in your workflow is to analyze and optimize structure - HyperX is the first source for sized design results and margins of safety. Since both CAD and FEA need this information, workflows that utilize HyperX have historically looked something like this:

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HyperX had great integration with FEM/FEA - as this has been the basis of the HyperX workflow for decades - but its integration with CAD was limited and overly reliant on a man-in-the-middle. To better integrate into the Digital Thread, we’ve been updating HyperX to establish a direct, bi-directional connection between HyperX and CAD, CAM, and Composites Software.

  1. HyperX exchanges data with CAD - HyperX can import CAD models to overlay on FEM. This allows analysts to better align their analysis with the as-designed model on the fly - locating cutouts, fillets, etc. that are not modeled on FEM as well as dissect geometry and extract dimensions for Design Property inputs. For the opposite direction, HyperX to CAD, HyperX can also generate CAD surfaces for optimized stiffener geometry (uniaxial or grid stiffened) and export CAD designs in various formats (.igs, .stp, .JT, .x_t, .x_b). HyperX can also export Metadata in .JT and .stp formats.

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  2. HyperX exchanges data with Composites Software - HyperX can export optimized ply shapes and ply metadata (orientation, sequence, material) to automate tedious documentation of ply shapes. HyperX can also import these things - while also taking in to account the as-manufactured fiber orientations and thicknesses to quickly assess strength and buckling with as-manufactured laminate.

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  3. HyperX consumes information about the as-manufactured design - HyperX can receive manufacturing data to quickly reassess margins in scenarios where manufacturing constraints require modifications to the design.

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HyperX and CAD

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Many analysis methods require detailed information about the structural design. That information may include holes for subsystem pass-throughs, fastener placement, joint configurations, mesh points relative to OML, etc.

Traditionally, this information may not be captured by the FEM for the sake of simplicity and run time management. As a result, stress analysts have to request the information from a designer or open the CAD model themselves. Now, a stress analyst can import the CAD directly into HyperX to query it on the fly in the exact same interface as they are setting up for analysis.

CAD features integrated into HyperX include:

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Stiffener Geometry Generation

Stiffener geometry and placement is often a negotiation between designers and analysts. Usually, analysts do not have the tools to generate geometry and are forced to rely on spreadsheets and screenshots. Now, analysts can automatically generate stiffener geometry from HyperX Sizing results allowing them to detect any overlaps themselves. Then, they can export them directly to CAD removing the need for additional files and, overall, more readily synchronizing the design with the as-analyzed model.

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After generating stiffener geometry in HyperX, it can be exported into any CAD package in numerous formats (.stp, .igs, .JT, .prt, .x_t, .x_b, .CATPart).

From there it can be used to:

  • Quickly communicate as-Analyzed/Sized position and geometry of stiffeners to designer.

  • Be a reference or starting point for CAD stiffeners (including radii, composite definition, etc.).

  • Measure geometry (No more spreadsheets!).

  • Provide surfaces for meshing discrete stiffeners (mid-surface export option).

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Stiffener Generation for Smeared Panels

In cases where stiffeners aren’t discretely modeled with FEM elements, HyperX uses a ‘smeared’ stiffness formulation to properly Size skin and stiffener objects. The primary benefit is that stiffener spacing remains a design variable. Historically, this type of analysis result has been exceedingly difficult to communicate to CAD making HyperX Stiffener Generation capability especially important for smeared panel models.

Now, CAD representations of resulting stiffener dimensions can be created and visualized directly in the HyperX interface (then exported accordingly). In these cases, stiffener paths are defined by “guide curves”, which are located along the surface of the model. Guide curves can be imported from a CAD package or defined natively in HyperX based on resulting stiffener spacing.

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Guide curves for stiffener positions

By projecting the guide curves onto Zones, HyperX is able to query the corresponding Sizing results and understand the stiffener geometry (2D and 3D). The result is then plotted along the guide curves according to element orientations.

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Visualization of how Sizing results are used to generate 2D and 3D geometry and how the generated stiffeners are set upon a Zone with a smeared stiffened panel property based on guide curves.

Stiffener Generation for Discrete Stiffeners

A similar approach is used when Zones have stiffeners discretely modeled with 1D and/or 2D elements. The difference is that stiffener paths are predefined by the stiffener elements’ locations and thereby don’t need to be generated via guide curves.

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Visualization of stiffener geometry generated from discretely models 1D elements

Grid Stiffened Concept Generation

HyperX can also generate CAD entities that represent the grid of a HyperX grid-stiffened panel for the purpose of exporting optimized geometry to CAD software. The generated geometry will reflect the concept, thicknesses, stiffener spacing, etc. of the Sizing results. These configurations are intended to provide reference geometry to the CAD Designers.

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Updating Dimensions

Dimensions can vary widely throughout a part with a highly optimized Structure. They also change in each design and analysis cycle as the stress analysis is fine-tuned. To keep CAD up to date with these changes and ensure accurate weight, impact assessment on subsystems, etc. we’ve updated HyperX to make it easier to update dimensions in CAD based on HyperX results.

First, you must align HyperX Zone and FEM property IDs with CAD parameters. As long as this alignment exists, you can use HyperX’s extensive reporting capabilities to export HyperX Sizing dimensions and import them directly to the corresponding pieces of a parameterized CAD model.

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Measuring and Modifying Imported CAD

The Measuring Tool can be used to measure distances (and angles when applicable) between the majority of entities in HyperX, including CAD Entities. You can use these measurements to inform your analysis without having to email a colleague to request them. For example, you can measure the distance between CAD Points that represent fasteners then input this distance directly into a Fastened Joint Design Property to ensure your joint analysis is in-sync with the current CAD design.

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Currently, HyperX supports measuring the following entities:

  • Zones

  • Elements

  • FEM Grids

  • Points

  • Surfaces

  • Brep/Solids

  • Planes

  • Curves

  • CAD Sub-Entities including:

    • Vertices, Edges, and Faces of Breps/Solids

    • Vertices and Sub-Curves of Curves

HyperX also features various tools to modify imported CAD Entities which can allow for more complex measurements. For instance, you may create a CAD Plane that cuts through a spar to split or intersect it allowing you to measure its cross-section. These measurements could then be used as input a Beam Design Property in order to inform your beam analysis with current design dimensions. 

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HyperX and Composites

HyperX offers many features for optimizing Laminate Stacks and Plies (i.e. Ply shapes, materials, etc.). However, as the design and analysis cycle progresses, it can be difficult to maintain consistent representation of laminates and plies between CAD/CAM and HyperX. We’ve added a number of ways that you can pass this information back and forth so it’s easier to maintain consistent representation of composites.

Tip

Utilizing these features in combination with one another will allow you to keep your analysis model more in-sync with the as-designed part while saving time.

Exporting Ply Shapes

Any laminate shapes resulting from Zone-based HyperX Sizing can also be converted into exportable Ply boundaries automatically. However, when doing Ply-based optimization in HyperX, the resulting Ply boundaries may appear “organic”; they don’t follow any substructure or previously defined Zone/FEM representation. In these cases, HyperX's Ply Manager can automatically fit CAD curves through FEM elements to model these boundaries.

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Both methods rapidly transform HyperX results into something CAD software can interpret. From here, HyperX can export these organic or Zone-based Ply boundary curves to any CAD tool in many standard CAD formats.

Tip

For more information on these methods, see "Define Ply Coverage" on the Plies page.

HyperX and CAM

HyperX can also import and process information from CAM tools to ensure your analysis model is consistent with your as-manufactured vehicle. Combining these features with those connecting HyperX with CAD allow you to tighten up the Digital Thread and maintain consistency through design, analysis, and manufacturing.

Fiber Direction Import

You can import simulated fiber directions for unidirectional materials from external software. This data can be imported as: CAD curves, CSV format, or software-specific format (CGTech’s VCP, Ingersoll’s iCPS).

HyperX updates fiber directions per Ply, per Element so you can perform more accurate stress analysis based on the as-manufactured directions. Mapped fiber directions can also be visualized within HyperX.

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