Computer aided generative design with feature thickness control to facilitate manufacturing and structural performance

A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoding a computer aided design program operable to cause one or more data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

• obtaining a design space for a modeled object, for which a corresponding physical structure is to be manufactured, one or more design criteria for the modeled object, and a thickness specification for the modeled object;
• iteratively varying a three-dimensional shape of the modeled object in the design space in accordance with the one or more design criteria, wherein the iteratively varying comprises performing a first set of two or more iterations following a second set of zero or more iterations, and wherein during the first set of two or more iterations, the iteratively varying comprises modifying an amount of change indicated by a current numerical assessment of the modeled object, which is generated by numerical simulation, in each iteration of the first set of two or more iterations for use in updating a current version of the three-dimensional shape in the iteration;
• wherein the modifying comprises, for each location of multiple locations in a current version of the three-dimensional shape, slowing a shape change, at the location, in a direction toward the thickness specification by an amount that is based on a difference between the thickness specification and a measured thickness at the location when the measured thickness complies with the thickness specification;
• and
• providing the three-dimensional shape of the modeled object for use in manufacturing the physical structure using one or more computer-controlled manufacturing systems.

A system comprising:

• a non-transitory storage medium having instructions of a three-dimensional modeling program stored thereon;
• and
• one or more data processing apparatus configured to run the instructions of the three-dimensional modeling program to perform operations comprising:
• obtaining a design space for a modeled object, for which a corresponding physical structure is to be manufactured, one or more design criteria for the modeled object, and a thickness specification for the modeled object;
• iteratively varying a three-dimensional shape of the modeled object in the design space in accordance with the one or more design criteria, wherein the iteratively varying comprises performing a first set of two or more iterations following a second set of zero or more iterations, and wherein during the first set of two or more iterations, the iteratively varying comprises modifying an amount of change indicated by a current numerical assessment of the modeled object, which is generated by numerical simulation, in each iteration of the first set of two or more iterations for use in updating a current version of the three-dimensional shape in the iteration;
• wherein the modifying comprises, for each location of multiple locations in a current version of the three-dimensional shape, slowing a shape change, at the location, in a direction toward the thickness specification by an amount that is based on a difference between the thickness specification and a measured thickness at the location when the measured thickness complies with the thickness specification;
• and
• providing the three-dimensional shape of the modeled object for use in manufacturing the physical structure using one or more computer-controlled manufacturing systems.