In advance of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week, CAD company ParaMatters announced the availability of CogniCAD, a new platform for topology optimization. ParaMatters claims that the cloud-based solution provides a variety of industries with a revolutionary new tool for lightweighting designs.
After signing up for a free account, CogniCAD users can import CAD files into the browser-based software, from which they can specify design parameters, including materials, boundary conditions and loads. Then, CogniCAD takes care of generating the newly optimized and lightweighted design, which users can download. All CAD files generated by CogniCAD are also directly ready for 3D printing.
The current pricing model is on a pay-per-design basis. Users can buy tokens (e.g., 100 for $100, 600 for $500, or 1,200 for $1,000), and each optimization requires a number of tokens that are presumably proportionate to the design’s complexity. For a simple bike bracket design that was given as an example file, a 5-minute optimization was worth six tokens.
"We are transforming the entire design-to-manufacturing process by making it autonomous and automated to generate high-quality, optimized lightweighted designs," said Michael Bogomolny, ParaMatters cofounder and CTO. "Our proprietary generative engine automatically delivers high performance and quality designs with minimal user input. As a result, the entire design cycle is compressed from days to hours, and raises the quality of generative designs compared to what can be achieved manually."
To evaluate CogniCAD for yourself, visit the ParaMatters website. For more about topology optimization, check out Frustum Topology Optimization Integrated into Siemens NX for 3D Printing.