Quick Start Guide

accessing design engine direct link | design carbon3d com carbon website | carbon3d com a login link for design engine is persistent at the top of all pages on carbon's website carbon printer dashboard | print carbon3d com carbon printer users can access design engine on the printer dashboard need a design engine account? sign up here for a 1 month free trial basic workflows create new design design engine is a software that modifies design spaces in a variety of ways for additive manufacturing the first step is to create a design by importing your design space or optionally begin with provided shapes video text create new design sample parts available without a model or upload one or more models (stl or step format) adjust name (optionally) choose a material (optionally) adjust units click create you can also use the add shape tool to create simple design spaces (cube, cylinder, or sphere) directly within design engine design workflows design engine offers many design functions below are the most common workflows to get you started, each generating a downloadable mesh for your application quick start guide docid\ jjwzidzc2zd7yo0absfgu with underlying tet mesh quick start guide docid\ jjwzidzc2zd7yo0absfgu with underlying hex mesh quick start guide docid\ jjwzidzc2zd7yo0absfgu multiple stls into one part quick start guide docid\ jjwzidzc2zd7yo0absfgu random noise pattern on surface quick start guide docid\ jjwzidzc2zd7yo0absfgu tiling pattern on surface images shown above are representative of their design category more choices are available within each tet strut lattice video text strut lattice select input mesh (design space) select population type (uniform most common) click lattice type use lattice search or manually select unit cell parameters lattice type cell size strut diameter optionallly add zones or advanced options solidify select strut lattice select options generate processing takes approx 1 minute (or up to 5 minutes with advanced options) hex strut lattice video text hex mesh select input mesh (design space) select preview to visualize select population type choose gridded or loft define and adjust cells preview regenerates after a few seconds of inactivity strut lattice select the hex mesh select lattice type select strut diameter solidify select strut lattice generate reference hex mesh docid 2s1mlnx3yfvzt6f5rge5h training for more details on gridded and loft hex mesh options combine video text upload model file(s) to combine combine select combine select the input meshes to combine overlap parts to obtain a proper connection click generate texture noise video text texture select input mesh select patch to texture select noise pattern select depth of texture optionally set a distance for fading the texture at edges click generate texture tile video text remesh (for best results) select input mesh select target edge size select default 1% target edge ratio in most cases select default settings for remaining options in most cases click generate \[before/after] original mesh remesh texture select the remesh as input mesh extract patch to texture select a contiguous patch patch cannot have disconnected areas select tile pattern select size of texture tile select depth of texture optionally set a distance for fading the texture at edges click generate repeat to texture remaining areas as needed download design the final step in design engine is to download the mesh file(s) to use in additive manufacturing video text option 1 download from mesh menu select file type stl, ply, obj option 2 download files from button select files to download stl type only essential lattice information understanding the core behavior of design engine will give you the keys to make the most successful lattice design below are the topics that all new users should be aware of when creating a lattice the mesh and unit cell the mesh is the underlying 3 dimensional scaffold upon which your lattice is built the mesh is comprised of unit cells upon which the strut lattice is applied design engine offers two mesh types tetrahedron mesh (tet) composed of polyhedrons with 4 faces one unit cell = one tetrahedron tetrahedron mesh (tet) composed of polyhedrons with 4 faces hexahedron mesh (hex) composed of polyhedrons with 6 faces one unit cell = one hexahedron hexahedron mesh (hex) composed of polyhedrons with 6 faces lattice parameters there are four parameters that further define the lattice first is the material , which could be any printable material in additive manufacturing design engine lattices are not limited to only carbon resins the strut lattice fills in the unit cell with the remaining three parameters lattice type cell size strut diameter material lattice type cell size strut diameter performance and feel choosing your mesh and lattice parameters provides a vast array of options for the performance of your lattice, but the relationships between these variables is simple energy return or impact two variables influence the energy return or impact of a lattice, which determines how absorptive or springy the lattice performs material resin selection lattice type pattern selection compressive strain two dimensional variables affect the compressive strain of a lattice, which affects how compressible or stiff the lattice performs some materials and lattice types are also stiffer than others strut diameter direct relationship cell size inverse relationship strut lattice and solidify strut lattice and solidify are a team both tools must be used to create a printable strut lattice strut lattice strut lattice is the foundational structure, derived from your specified parameters at its core, this is a structure of unprintable lines and nodes solidify solidified lattices are derived from strut lattices but have been converted into a triangulated mesh, or stl file, for printing strut lattice and solidify visibility strut lattice can be viewed volumetrically (preview or diameter) or as lines (paths & nodes) solidify accurately depicts the printable stl file, with all utilized features in play if you are not seeing a feature depicted in a volumetric strut lattice view, you may need to view the solidified lattice strut lattice polylines > strut lattice volumetrically > solidified lattice strut lattice the strut lattice lines are polylines, not splines, made up of line segments the default view for strut lattices is to display them volumetrically with the specified strut diameter, helping you visualize the lattice in 3d this view expands each line segment with a circular cross section of the specified diameter line segments along a curved strut may appear not fully connected on the outside of the curve however, this is only a temporary visual representation and does not affect the integrity of your struts solidify in the mesh conversion, all seemingly disconnected line segments are fully connected in the printable lattice design space boundary interface the default strut lattice generation builds outwards from the boundary mesh (your design space) by 1/2 the strut diameter design engine offers to adjust the default lattice if the boundary mesh is a hard boundary reference trim docid\ uydtcmwolksw6rwsv2yha and offset docid 5vojdssce3jsufqr1wl z essential resources setting up cad design files reference file preparation docid\ ia0qx01vb vsxjgbk0le5 navigating design engine reference navigation and options docid\ igtmbndal41qlotu4rxua choosing mesh type reference lattice parameters docid\ f f8roxdabcrrbeudh6q1 selecting a material reference lattice parameters docid\ f f8roxdabcrrbeudh6q1 selecting unit cell manually reference lattice parameters docid\ f f8roxdabcrrbeudh6q1 , lattice parameters docid\ f f8roxdabcrrbeudh6q1 , lattice parameters docid\ f f8roxdabcrrbeudh6q1 guidelines selecting unit cell via lattice search reference lattice search docid\ llwko8suvfs2j3cejz6yr understanding what design engine can do reference tools and features docid\ emta0u58ve4r8hkxmrdzv assessing manufacturability reference lattice parameters docid\ f f8roxdabcrrbeudh6q1 faq general design engine how do i get a design engine subscription? on carbon’s design engine product page , click try for free to begin a trial you will have the option to continue with a paid subscription when the trial ends can i import and/or export a step file? parts must be an stl or step file type to import into carbon design engine all step files will be converted to an stl upon import meshes cannot be downloaded in step format (stl, ply, and obj are the available download format options) what is the datum point of the model? the origin of the model is preserved from the originating cad software why does my imported model appear very small or large? check that your model was imported in its native units click view info on the mesh menu to see the units in which the model was imported models imported with the units in which they built will be converted to their correct scale note that design engine operates in mm only, so any models imported in inches will be converted to metric units tip if your model imports at a very small or large scale, use the zoom to fit (f) functionality to fit the model to the screen how do i download a file? option 1 download from mesh menu select file type stl, ply, obj option 2 download files from button select files to download stl type only why can't i download my strut lattice as an stl? a strut lattice must be solidified to be downloaded as an stl strut lattice is the foundational structure, derived from your specified parameters at its core, this is a structure of unprintable lines solidified lattices are derived from strut lattices but have been converted into a triangulated mesh, or stl file, for printing why is the software running slow? many operations in combination with large files of high triangle count may take a few minutes for processing try using the generate to here function to limit the number of operations generated at once use the decimate tool to reduce the complexity and triangle count of large meshes i generated a design (lattice, texture, etc ) but can't see the results? typically this occurs when another mesh is covering up the results you are looking for hide or adjust transparency of other meshes to view operation output(s) reference navigation and options docid\ igtmbndal41qlotu4rxua can i view the triangles comprising the imported stl mesh? yes you have options on how to view meshes in the design input meshes shaded | triangle generated meshes strut lattice volumetric | paths & nodes | diameter solidify default view only reference navigation and options docid\ igtmbndal41qlotu4rxua for more information on visibility can the software provide customized automation? yes your work in design engine on a single model can be turned into a repeatable program that can be used to automatically create custom or personalized parts according to the rules and parameters in your program design automation can be integrated seamlessly with other systems (eg, ordering system; mes ) contact carbon for assistance with this functionality strut lattices how do i find a lattice in the metamaterials library? launch lattice search docid\ llwko8suvfs2j3cejz6yr from the quick access button on the upper right of the design user interface you can also launch lattice search from inside the strut lattice docid\ idhmaxmvu97uzzihv0pdk tool, under lattice type this will enable you to apply a unit cell that you find directly to an input mesh what is a good range for a soft lattice? the stress at 25% strain will be approximately 0 20 kpa for an extra soft lattice and 20 80 kpa for soft lattices use lattice search docid\ llwko8suvfs2j3cejz6yr to find performance criteria for lattices generally a 10 15% volume fraction is also a good rule of thumb for soft lattices, although lattice type and material will vary results how do i make zones? there are two options to set up your design space for multiple zones use the add shape docid\ ouc3sferqdsuqdeguvibz tool in design engine set up zones in your cad file reference file preparation docid\ ia0qx01vb vsxjgbk0le5 define zones in the strut lattice operation under the zones docid\ efk8rievt0jgcmqhe2ifv tab when is it best to use zones? multi zone lattices enable control over the performance of your lattice across a single design space lattice type, cell size and strut diameter can be modified in zones, along with specifying a transition distance to maintain connection between varying parameters changing strut diameter is the most common use case, enabling the lattice to feel stiffer in some areas and softer in others tip hovering over a strut will reveal the strut's attributes what is uniform vs point cloud in the strut lattice operation? the strut lattice docid\ idhmaxmvu97uzzihv0pdk population type uses the same lattice parameters across the entire design space, unless zones are utilized in tandem the strut lattice docid\ idhmaxmvu97uzzihv0pdk population type creates a lattice by mapping parameters to xyz coordinates that are imported via a csv file one common use case is to use pressure sensor data to define your lattice, utilizing personalized or aggregated data to build your applications how do i get a regular surface pattern? there are a few ways you can influence the surface pattern of your lattice lattice parameters docid\ f f8roxdabcrrbeudh6q1 ensure that the cell size fits within the design space, following recommended guidelines if you are not seeing the primary pattern on a tet mesh lattice, try adjusting the cell size in small increments (0 1 +/ ) the strut lattice operation provides features under the advanced tab, strut lattice docid\ idhmaxmvu97uzzihv0pdk symmetry apply a symmetry option if you are looking for the surface pattern to manifest around a selected xyz axis or plane surface isotropy enable surface isotropy for uniformity surface tolerance for the most control to fine tune the surface pattern, use the surface tolerance feature try values based on the recommended guidelines reference lattice parameters docid\ f f8roxdabcrrbeudh6q1 for more information about surface patterns hex mesh and tet mesh strut lattices manifest surface patterns differently, with tet mesh lattices having both a primary and secondary pattern why does my lattice appear underpopulated, with struts missing in some areas? small features may not populate correctly if the cell size is too large for the feature ensure that the cell size fits within the design space, following recommended lattice parameters docid\ f f8roxdabcrrbeudh6q1 if you want the cell size to be larger in most of the design space, but want to ensure that smaller features are still properly filled in, use cell size adaptivity docid\ upbqxwwljaafbsctezwed to adjust the cell size in only those areas that need adjustment can i manually edit struts? yes you can delete, modify, or add individual struts reference edit strut lattice docid 5lipvkklmw4adtrleegag can i keep part of my design space solid or apply a skin over a section of my lattice? yes! you can use the combine ai error docid\ qgtfrfw3wkjeob0ey5hyv tool to merge separate parts (individual stl mesh files) into one mesh file for printing use cad software to create the parts to combine with a lattice carbon manufacturing how do i know if my part fits on my carbon printer's build platform? reference the design dimensions in the lower left of your project screen to see the bounding box dimensions of your design compare the dimensions to the specifications for your printer all of carbon’s printer’s build volumes can be found on the printer product page does design engine have overhang warnings for printability? design engine does not offer overhang detection , which is set up to retain model orientation from native cad software, rather than print orientation carbon’s printer software offers overhang detection to assist with part orientation and supports when working with lattices, it can be helpful to assess the non latticed design space first to eliminate the distraction of strut overhangs, and then consider any strut overhangs after an optimal orientation is selected reference printer ui getting started docid 2hkewumxyhzsgzlp8gjbi for more information on overhang detection are technical data sheets (tds) available for carbon materials? all tds’s can be found on the materials product page