The safety factor below target visualization focuses exclusively on areas where the safety factor is below your lower threshold. This visualization uses a gradient scale to show how far below the threshold each area falls. Areas at or above the threshold are hidden from view, allowing you to focus on problem areas without distraction.

The gradient ranges from 0 (most critical) to the lower threshold value (default: 2.0), with color intensity indicating severity.

Things to look for

The Below Target visualization helps you identify and prioritize critical areas in your design:

• Most critical failure points: Darkest red areas (safety factor near 0) represent the highest risk of failure under applied loads. These areas require immediate design changes.

• Areas below threshold: Mid-range red areas show regions that don't meet your safety requirements but have some margin before catastrophic failure.

• Areas approaching threshold: Lightest red areas (just below the lower threshold) indicate regions that are close to meeting requirements and may only need minor adjustments.

• Iterative design progress: Use this visualization to verify that design changes have eliminated critical areas and improved safety factors. As you strengthen your design, areas should disappear from this view or shift to lighter colors.

This focused view is especially useful during iterative design when you're working to eliminate failures.

Using this result

Use the threshold slider on the legend to probe specific areas and identify exact safety factor values:

• Drag the slider upward to progressively hide areas with higher safety factors, revealing only the most critical regions
• Drag the slider downward to expand the view to include areas closer to the threshold
• Click on the model to see the exact safety factor value at specific locations
• Read the legend to understand the current range being displayed

The gradient visualization helps you prioritize design improvements:

• Darkest red areas first: Address the most critical failure points where safety factor approaches zero
• Medium red areas next: Improve areas that are below threshold but less severe
• Light red areas: Fine-tune areas that are close to meeting the threshold

As you make design changes, use this visualization to verify that critical areas have been eliminated and safety factors have improved.

Next steps

Based on the critical areas identified in Below Target visualization:

• Increase material thickness in the darkest red areas to provide more structural strength
• Add reinforcements such as ribs, gussets, or fillets to strengthen weak regions
• Reduce applied loads by redistributing forces or adding additional support points
• Change material to one with higher strength properties in critical areas
• Modify geometry to create better load paths and reduce stress concentrations

After making design changes:

1. Re-run the simulation to verify improvements
2. Use Traffic Light Plot to see the complete picture and ensure no new critical areas emerged
3. Return to Below Target visualization to confirm all areas now meet safety requirements