Integrating design and optimization tools : a designer-centered study
Name
1004860869-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
3.94 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
cc67cfaaa6bf7e04649810adb9f7b615
Author(s)
Burnell, Edward (Edward E.)
Advisor(s)
Maria Yang.
Date Issued
2017
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Exploring design options for additively manufactured parts generally requires separate, sequentially applied software for design, analysis, and optimization. To evaluate the effect of integrating these capabilities within a single tool we conducted a controlled human subjects study. Three tools with different degrees of integration were created for two test cases of structural trusses, and it was found that increased integration improved quality, speed, and efficiency of the design process. After a quarter of their total time with the problems, 50% of designers with a fully integrated tool had a better design than 75% of other designers ever would. After that point, the top 50% of designers went on to explore a design space unreached with other tools. It appears that integration, and in particular the integration of optimization, leads to better performance by making it possible to explore complex designs and achieve outcomes which would be inaccessible to conventional tools.
Description
Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2017.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 21-23).
Subjects
Mechanical Engineering.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Terms of Use
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