A Computational Modeling Platform for Building High-Performance Parts Faster 

nTopology announces the release of nTop Platform 2.0, software for advanced manufacturing design. The goal is to drastically reduce the time it takes engineers to iterate through several versions of a part to prepare it for manufacturing. nTop Platform uses artificial intelligence routines and generative design technology to automate the low-value engineering work of tweaking models to conform to additive manufacturing standards. 

nTop Platform uses equations to represent a 3D solid directly, in an implicit modeling approach to product development. Each equation represents the distance to a shape from any point in space. By default, raytracing is always on, allowing a realistic view of the product while editing. Although new models can be created in nTop Platform, it is expected that most work will be done with data imported from other tools. 

nTopology says the nTop Platform is not a replacement for existing CAD and CAE tools, but is instead an augmentation tool for finishing the work stated in other tools. All relevant data from CAD, CAE and other software are brought into nTop Platform, where it is handled as a single unified model. Editing occurs by changing data and running smart routines to modify the model.  

nTopology calls nTop a platform because it is designed for importing all relevant engineering data from various sources, into one workspace where the data becomes a single model. The geometry engine uses implicit modeling, where data drives shape instead of shape driving data. 

nTopology says it is not creating a product to replace CAD, CAE, CAM or PLM, but to augment them. nTop Platform can bring in data from all major formats and work with them in a unified environment. One goal is to eliminate the need for STL translation, by creating print-ready models in the nTop Platform. Inputs to nTop are generally CAD, CAE and various process knowledge inputs; outputs from nTop are to CAD/PLM, to simulation and to direct additive manufacturing.   

nTopology says nTop Platform is an open platform, for two reasons. It accepts CAD and CAE data from nearly all popular platforms, and it supports collaboration by allowing engineers to divide up the workflow. 

New in nTop Platform 2.0 are nTop Toolkits, or prepackaged bundles of commonly used tools. These tools enable the user to immediately get to work using common processes. The five toolkits shipping with nTop Platform 2.0 are: 

Lightweighting Toolkit: 

• Reduce weight and maximize part performance.
• Shell parts in seconds.
• Apply variable wall thickness to shelled parts.

Architected Materials Toolkit: 

• Engineer functional materials to perform at any scale. 
• Design with multifunctional requirements: structural, thermal, acoustic or aesthetic. 
• Harness and synthesize engineering data from simulations, experimental measurements, or imported fields to create high performance parts. 

Design Analysis Toolkit: 

• Use fully integrated simulation capabilities to analyze parts in a single connected workflow. 
• Drive geometric parameters directly from simulation results. 
• Integrate with simulation tools already in use in the organization. 

Topology Optimization Toolkit:

• Discover new design options early in the product development cycle. 
• Apply multiple loading conditions to optimize for various performance criteria including stress, displacement, stiffness and weight. 
• Use automated geometry reconstruction tools to generate instantly editable geometry. 

Additive Manufacturing Toolkit: 

• Position, orient and prepare parts for additive manufacturing from common build platforms. 
• Add lattice support structures automatically or manually. 
• Directly slice parts to avoid dealing with STL files as an intermediate step. 

nTop Platform 2.0 is now available. 

For information on a webinar introducing nTop Platform 2.0 in more detail, click here. 

For more information on the nTop Platform 2.0, visit here. 

For a video on advanced lattice design using nTop Platform, click here. 

For a video on how to shell and infill with lattice designs using nTop Platform, click here. 

See why DE’s Editors selected nTopology nTop Platform 2.0 as their Pick of the Week. 

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.