1. CASE STUDY
Market: Arbitrary shape Optimal Solutions
deformation and optimization Industry leader in arbitrary shape deformation for
for aerospace, automotive and structural and fluid flow analysis
turbomachinery industries
Product: 3D ACIS Modeler, 3D
COMPANY
Optimal Solutions Software LLC, based in Idaho Falls, ID, is a leading provider of software
InterOp Translators, HOOPS for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element analysis (FEA). The company’s
Application Framework flagship product, Sculptor™, provides the ability to parameterize CFD/FEA models and
perform real-time shape deformation and shape optimization.
Challenge:
Optimal Solutions’ Sculptor™ When the founders of the company conceived of Sculptor, the existing design-to-product
arbitrary shape deformation paradigm was to mesh the CAD model to create the analysis model. This time-consuming
software needed the ability to task is difficult to automate and necessitates the complete re-creation of the analysis model
apply an optimized shape to the every time a modification is made to the CAD model. Sculptor overcame that hurdle by
original CAD model to eliminate providing a means to directly deform and change the shape of the analysis model.
the need to rebuild the CAD
model prior to manufacturing Sculptor helps engineers, designers and analysts find more accurate designs without
costly physical testing and prototyping. This can save weeks or even months in the design
Solution: process, which translates into more money being saved by the design team. Sculptor
3D ACIS modeler provides features ASD, arbitrary shape deformation, which is unique to the product. ASD facilitates
foundation for model automatic, real-time, shape alterations that are typically very complex and hard to
deformation manipulate into designs that improve performance.
Employs ACIS LAWS
functionality to apply ASD is a very efficient and contiguous way of doing shape optimization compared to many
deformations to the original other methods. It does not require CAD parameters or the modification of individual nodes
CAD model in the mesh. It quickly changes the shape in a very smooth and natural way that results in a
3D InterOp translators part that is manufacturable and optimally meets the design criteria.
provide high quality import
of native CAD files Sculptor, first introduced in 2003, is sold mostly in the United States, with distributors in
HOOPS for the Europe and Asia. Sculptor customers include most aerospace (Lockheed Martin, Cessna,
development of a graphical Embraer, Gulf Stream), automotive and automotive parts (Honda Toyota, Ford, Cummins)
user interface that displays and motorsports (including five of the six Formula One racing teams) companies.
shape deformations
Results: “One of the great things that came of the collaboration
Developed first-to-market
capability to take optimized between Spatial and our company is that together we’ve
mesh model deformations broken through technology gaps that we couldn’t have
back to the CAD model done on our own. Now we have a new product as a result
Reduced a month long of that synergy that solves a real industry problem. We
iteration process between
and our customers are very excited about it.”
analysis and design to days
or weeks
Introduced Back2CAD - a Sculptor reduced static pressure drop in this Phil Belnap
market-leading product exhaust port by over 3% due to a President, Optimal Solutions
that bridges analysis results non-intuitive new shape.
to the design model

2. CASE STUDY - Optimal Solutions
Sculptor allows these companies to reshape, deform and
optimize the design of parts and assemblies in a way that
could not previously be done, and allows them to link the
software with other solvers and optimizers. “Using our
ASD functionality, our customers come to shapes that they
wouldn’t have without having Sculptor in the toolkit,” says Phil
Belnap, Optimal Solutions President. “The software doesn’t
have preconceived notions about what would be the best
shape, so it goes out and solves and brings back a shape that is
the best for the parameters given.”
Models that are built by designers in a CAD system are brought
into Sculptor and converted into mesh models for structural
and fluid flow analysis. Most Optimal Solutions customers use
Sculptor in conjunction with CFD and/or FEA code. Sculptor Most top contenders on the Formula 1 circuit have used Sculptor for years to
is used to determine fluid structure interaction; the user provide the improvements in aerodynamics required to win consistently.
can change shapes to maximize performance for fluid flow.
Sometimes change in shape affect the structural integrity of
smooth, subtle changes and the high degree of continuity
the model. So then there is a trade-off and iterative process
required to deliver the optimized shape were difficult to
between the designer and the analyst to find the best
achieve. The company then looked to Spatial’s 3D InterOp
structural and fluid flow shape of the model.
translators and 3D ACIS Modeler and found a solution that
provides that last link in the design optimization process.
Competitive products to Sculptor do deformation but cannot
link the deformation to the optimizer automatically, and are
Optimal had been working with Spatial’s HOOPS application
constrained in terms of what other software tools they work
framework to accelerate development of the Sculptor 3D
with or what the CAD system allows. Sculptor, on the other
display since the first release of Sculptor in 2003. HOOPS
hand, is designed around fluid flow physics, can deform
provided Optimal with a graphics pipeline so that it didn’t have
volumetrically, and works with any solver or optimizer on the
to develop the product’s core graphics infrastructure internally.
market.
In 2008 Optimal Solutions selected ACIS 3D solid modeling
kernel specifically because of its LAWS technology. ACIS Laws
CHALLENGE technology provides a means to solve complex geometry
Sculptor enables its customers to save significant time and
problems and facilitated the ability of ASD to be directly
money by being able to deform a mesh model without having
applied to the original CAD models.
to rebuild a new CAE model each time. However, after the
CAE model has been optimized, the CAD model still had to be
“ACIS LAWS proved to be the key to making this all work,”
completely rebuilt by taking isolated data off the mesh model
notes Dr. Mark Landon, President and Co-founder of Optimal
prior to the part/assembly being manufactured. Valuable time
Solutions. “It solves the problem very directly and elegantly
was wasted by having to recreate the model, then verify and
because it allows us to directly deform the CAD model. With
compare it with the original design because the topology was
our previous approach we had to deform a tessellated surface
lost.
and then fit that to a NURBS surface and retrim it. This is
handled much more elegantly with ACIS.”
In 2008 Optimal Solutions sought to become the first CAE/
CFD company to eliminate the last part of the process by
3D InterOp CAD file translators gives Sculptor the ability, for
developing a method for taking the optimized model directly
the first time, to import accurate CAD models in a variety of
back to the CAD system to hand off to the manufacturing team
formats important to Optimal customers (such as CATIA V4
for production.
and V5, Parasolid, Pro/E, IGES and STEP). 3D InterOp is also
used in conjunction with LAWS when a Sculptor user exports
SOLUTION the new deformed shape of the CAD model. The company
plans to take advantage of additional ACIS functionality in
Optimal Solutions had tried to develop a solution for bringing
the CAE model back to the CAD system using other well future versions of their product.
known modeling tools, but was unsuccessful. Getting the

3. CASE STUDY - Optimal Solutions
“We offer a unique way to deform volumetrically, providing a Optimal Solutions motorsports customers were some
smooth accurate deformation – no one else has this ability,” of the biggest drivers for Back2CAD. They can design
comments John Jenkins, Optimal Solutions Vice President of multiple iterations of parts using the tools and test the
Sales and Marketing. “ACIS helps us to complete the design performance before having to spend their time and money on
optimization loop and apply that mesh deformation directly manufacturing and expensive wind tunnel testing. The most
back to the CAD model, which is the basis for design and visible results are in the F1 circuit. Most of the leading teams
manufacturing. This is something that all CAE customers have have been using Sculptor for years and now with Back2CAD
been asking for for years.” they can manufacture those improvements week to week
between races.
In fact, the company is calling this breakthrough technology
‘Back2CAD’, and is providing it as an adjunct module to “Instead of taking months, with Sculptor and Back2CAD, the
Sculptor. Back2CAD enables Optimal Solutions’ customers to design cycle can be completed in days or weeks now,” says
utilize Sculptor’s very efficient method of shape optimization Jenkins. “This cuts a considerable amount of time out of the
inside their processes because they know they can apply that time-to-market process – presenting a huge advantage where
same shape deformation to their CAD models and manufacture things change so quickly in today’s high tech world.”
the parts without having to go back and create a totally new
CAD model. “No one else in our market can do that” says Spatial’s ACIS, InterOp and HOOPS technologies have saved
Jenkins. “What we have accomplished, in partnership with Optimal Solutions a lot of development resources in bringing
Spatial, satisfies a lot of the things that were missing before.” Sculptor and now Back2CAD to market, breaking through
Another key to the successful partnership is the support significant technology gaps in the process. The company
Optimal Solutions employees receive from Spatial. “By working had worked for close to a year to get the technology fully
with ACIS developers, our technical sales people were able to developed, but it wasn’t until it made the change to Spatial’s
quickly solve a long-standing problem in just two days,” says tools that the breakthroughs came. In a few short weeks
Landon. “It wasn’t just the fact that the Spatial technology is working closely with Spatial’s technical support team the full
high quality; other component suppliers do not offer that same capability of Back2CAD came to life. “We now have a solution
kind of support and service.” where our customers can work with many different models,
read them in, deform them and export them back to the CAD
system without a problem,” observes Jenkins. “They’re doing a
RESULTS lot of things they couldn’t do before and Spatial facilitated this
Sculptor’s CAD deformation and Back2CAD functionality very quickly.”
for the first time allow more production engineers and
designers to use this capability on a daily basis. With this
new technology it allows designers to test their designs
for performance earlier in the process. This shortens the
design cycle dramatically, saving days or even weeks of
work to achieve the optimal design of a part or assembly
ready for manufacture. One of the defense contractors
who specializes in extended unmanned flights was able to
reduce the time to production from months to weeks on a
new cowling design. By using Back2CAD it put improved Using Optimal Solutions’ ASD technology designers and engineers are able to
performance into practice a full model cycle earlier than it deform CFD and CAD models to maximize performance and then take those shape
would have without the technology. changes back to the native CAD format.
Engine manufacturers are using Sculptor and Back2CAD
to improve performance of intake ports, exhaust ports and
cooling systems. These improvements are critical to improving
performance and reducing emissions.
310 Interlocken Parkway, Ste. 200
Broomfield, CO 80021
Tel: 1+303-544-2900
Fax: 1+303-544-3000
www.spatial.com