A Mesh-Based Geometric Modeling Method for General Structures

This paper presents a mesh-based geometric modeling method to create tessellated models of general structures, which can be the design results of conformal truss structure design, thermal design, topology design, material design, compliant mechanism design and others. A general structure configuration design format is proposed to describe the structures. A universal structure generating system is developed based on the mesh-based geometric modeling method. Besides generating a watertight surface model for an input structure configuration, the modeling approach can automatically add an important design feature, fillets, in the generated model. Therefore the structures’ mechanical performance is improved comparing to results generated by other methods. Examples from different structure design areas are presented. The validity of the generated models is verified by using an additive manufacturing system. The computational efficiency of the method is also discussed.