*STLH: STL Homogenization (Tech Preview)

*STLH

i1, r1,i2, r2

i1: i*4: STL reference, equivalent to line number in *STLF and *STLM

r1: r*8: Alpha radius for homogenization, in mm

i2: i*4: Volume fraction control option

r2: r*2: Structure thickness in mm, for i2=2, must have dummy value for other i2 options

The *STLH card allows users to automatically homogenize any STL file. Homogenization will create a solid volume equivalent geometry and then scale the material properties based upon the volume fraction. The volume fraction is the ratio of the volume of the original part over the volume of the total homogenized volume. This process can speed up simulations significantly by allowing the use of coarser meshing settings. This can be applied to both sacrificial support structures and lattice type components. Any cavity of the STL smaller than the Alpha radius will be homogenized.

There are four options to specify the volume fraction:

• i2 = 0: Use volume fraction set in *STLM
• i2 = 1: Calculate volume based upon STL volume. Use only for closed, volumetric, and manifold STL files.
• i2 = 2: Calculate volume using the optional r2 value as the structure thickness
• i2 = 3: Calculate volume using the laser beam diameter from the PRM file

Required cards: *STLM, *STLF