CDFAM Computational Design Symposium

Recorded at CDFAM Computational Design Symposium, Amsterdam, 2025 https://cdfam.com/amsterdam-2025/

Organization: Altair

Presenter: Wesley Essink

Flexible Geometric Modeling and Atypical Simulation Solvers to Streamline Design Optimization

Presentation Abstract

Simulation-driven design serves two important purposes: wider exploration of the design space and goal-seeking optimization. Regardless of the regime, the workflow spanning geometry creation, simulation setup, results interrogation and geometry redesign needs to be as seamless as possible to make this approach viable. However, there is often a significant overhead associated with manual, non-value-adding tasks. Examples include converting all geometry into a common representation prior to simulation, meshing for simulation, (re)applying simulation boundary conditions and, finally, making meaningful geometry updates based on simulation results. In this talk, we will showcase some of the approaches and methods we use in Altair Inspire to: Concurrently model with up to four different geometry representations Prepare simulation boundary conditions that remain fixed, irrespective of geometry changes Run simulations on components and assemblies without having to harmonise all geometry into a single representation Prepare a design exploration or optimization to close the loop between design and simulation Automatically update geometry based on the simulation findings These workflows take place entirely within Altair Inspire, which also reduces the need for lossy conversions or file transfers between different software products.

Organization: Ku Leuven

Presenter: Vanessa Cool

From Structure To Sound: Unlocking The Potential Of Vibroacoustic Design

Presentation Abstract

Noise pollution is one of the leading global environmental pollutants, resulting in the loss of one million life years annually. This has prompted the introduction of stringent regulations on the acoustic performance of structures, without compromising their structural integrity. Topology optimization offers a promising approach to developing innovative structures that meet these conflicting requirements. However, in many applications, considering vibroacoustic coupling from the early design stages is essential, as it directly impacts the accuracy of the acoustic performance and structural stability, ensuring that both functional and regulatory requirements are met. This added complexity to the optimization process largely influences the resulting structures and is crucial for achieving optimal performance. This presentation will provide a comprehensive overview of an intricate vibroacoustic topology optimization framework and focusses on its potential applications. It will showcase optimization results across various scales, from unit cell and metamaterial design to supercell and finite component levels. Novel, intricately engineered structures that balance lightweight design, structural stiffness, and acoustic performance will be presented, demonstrating the potential of vibroacoustic design in meeting modern performance standards. Interview: Vanessa Cool – From Structure To Sound: Unlocking The Potential Of Vibroacoustic Design

Recorded at CDFAM Computational Design Symposium, Amsterdam , 2025 https://cdfam.com/amsterdam-2025/

https://www.datameister.ai

The presentation explores the transformative potential of AI in automotive design, emphasizing the need for tools that embrace constrained creativity within the industry’s unique challenges. Current generic 2D and 3D generative tools often fall short in addressing the intricate constraints of automotive design, such as manufacturability, stakeholder needs, and engineering requirements. By collaborating with a world-renowned design studio, we have mapped out a novel inside-out design process that integrates custom AI tooling directly into designers’ workflows. Rather than replacing designers, this approach empowers them by eliminating non-creative, time-consuming tasks and reducing design iterations between stakeholders. The result is a faster, more effective path to optimal designs that balance creativity, feasibility, and client requirements. During the talk, we will share insights from this collaboration and showcase in-house results that highlight how AI can redefine workflows in automotive design.

Interview: Datameister – Constrained creativity in AI-accelerated automotive design https://cdfam.com/datameister-constrained-creativity-in-ai-accelerated-automotive-design/ https://www.datameister.ai

This presentation delves into our collaboration with Coperni to develop and release the Ariel Swipe Bag for Paris Fashion Week 2024, a project exemplifying the principles of Design for Advanced Manufacturing. By leveraging our novel production methods, we navigated design creativity and manufacturing constraints to realize an innovative outcome. Key topics include the design development process, technical advancements, and the synergy between aesthetics and functionality enabled by our unique capabilities. The presentation further highlights our portfolio of past projects, including BMW and Hyundai concept seats, Black Imagination lamps, and luxury handbags, showcasing the breadth and versatility of our approach to advanced manufacturing in design.

Recorded at CDFAM Computational Design Symposium, Amsterdam , 2025

https://cdfam.com/amsterdam-2025/

Read the CDFAM interview with RLP

Recorded at CDFAM Computational Design Symposium, Amsterdam , 2025 https://cdfam.com/amsterdam-2025/ Open Source, Parametrics, and Lattice Obsession https://fequalsf.blogspot.com/p/about.html

https://www.food4rhino.com/en/app/crystallon In this deeply personal and wide-ranging talk, industrial designer Aaron Porterfield reflects on his path from early explorations with BASIC and Blender to founding F=F (Form Equals Function). Aaron shares how a childhood without video games led to a lifelong fascination with design tools, parametric modeling, and open-source collaboration. From early contributions to the Blender Foundation and experiments with lattice hinges and origami tessellations to impactful work on custom 3D-printed medical devices, this talk traces the evolution of his design thinking. Aaron walks through highlights including: Founding the Crystallon plugin for Grasshopper Collaborating on patient-specific helmets and orthotics Volunteering at Burning Man with Arthur Mamou-Mani Building a DIY compression testing rig for lattice experiments Rediscovering and reviving open-source projects with community help He concludes with a discussion on creative commons, the value of attribution, and how open-source culture helps people like him—self-proclaimed “severely ADD” designers—get their projects finished… by others. This presentation captures the spirit of CDFAM: openness, experimentation, and the computational rethinking of design at every scale. 📍 To learn more about the CDFAM Computational Design Symposium, visit cdfam.com #computationaldesign #additivemanufacturing #opensource #grasshopper3d #blender3d #latticestructures #parametricdesign #medicaldevices #burningman #crystallon

Recorded at CDFAM Computational Design Symposium, Amsterdam , 2025 https://cdfam.com/amsterdam-2025/

Organization: Politecnico di Torino

Presenter: Dario Carbonaro

Presentation Abstract

Self-expandable cardiovascular devices, such as vascular stents, stent-grafts, and transcatheter aortic valves (TAVs), are medical devices implanted into diseased anatomies through minimally invasive procedures. Specifically, these devices are crimped into small catheters, where they are subjected to high strains, allowing them to pass through and be placed within the anatomy. Additionally, self-expandable cardiovascular devices are commonly fabricated from nickel-titanium (NiTi) and are capable of elastically recovering their initial shape when extracted from the catheter, even after being subjected to high strains. This capability is related to the super-elastic property of NiTi, which refers to the material’s ability to elastically sustain high strains. The effectiveness of the treatment depends on the interaction between the devices and the anatomy in which they are implanted. Furthermore, the forces exerted by the devices on the anatomy depend on their design, including geometric and material characteristics. In this context, the computational design and optimization of vascular stents represents an efficient tool for improving their mechanical characteristics and consequently enhancing outcomes and safety of the treatments. In this presentation, an overview is provided on the design optimization of self-expandable cardiovascular devices, with a focus on both geometric features and material properties. Firstly, a computational framework is presented for the multi-objective shape and cross-sectional size optimization of self-expandable TAV frames, based on finite element simulations of the implantation procedure in different diseased anatomies. Secondly, a computational framework for the design of innovative self-expandable femoral stents is introduced, in which inverse homogenization topology optimization is adopted to generate 2D unit cells with prescribed mechanical characteristics of clinical relevance, incorporating geometric constraints to ensure manufacturability. Finally, a study is presented that combines experimental tests on NiTi samples with finite element analysis of stent-graft mechanical testing, highlighting the potential for designing and optimizing the mechanical properties of self-expandable cardiovascular devices by finely tuning the temperature and processing time of the material heat treatment.

Recorded at CDFAM Amsterdam, 2025

While computational tools have revolutionized design, many approaches focus on explicit modeling of form. This presentation delves deeper, exploring the creative application of intrinsic geometry processing properties – characteristics inherent to a surface regardless of its embedding in space. These techniques are typically confined to mathematics or specialized engineering domains, however looking this presentation will look at their practical use in art and design.

Key concepts such as the generation and application of smooth vector fields on complex meshes (illustrated through a personal jewelry design project), the use of the cotan Laplacian for simulating surface phenomena or achieving specific smoothing effects, and the deployment of reaction-diffusion systems to generate intricate, organic patterns directly on geometry will be examined.

This talk aims to illustrate these powerful methods and demonstrate how leveraging the inherent mathematical structure of shapes can unlock novel aesthetic possibilities, sophisticated surface treatments, and approaches for design expression beyond conventional digital craft. Attendees will gain insight into applying these advanced computational techniques to enhance their own creative explorations.

Blending generations of tradition with technology innovation. Exploring how computational tools and additive manufacturing transforms the footwear industry empowering design and production. From the acceleration of ideation with AI, design through to the optimization of production tooling and mold making with generative design and additive manufacturing.

Recorded CDFAM Amsterdam 2025

René Medel - Molding the Future: Computational Design in Footwear Tooling - Frames

Recorded at CDFAM Amsterdam, 2025

Alessandro Zomparelli - AiBuild

Multi-axis 3D printing has become a widely adopted technology across a range of industries. In recent years, computational designers and engineers have increasingly explored non-planar slicing strategies for large-format and robotic 3D printing in order to produce support-free parts with better strength and surface quality. While many solutions remain tailored to specific applications, the development of more generalised and automated toolpath generation workflows is essential to broaden the accessibility and scalability of these technologies.

Geodesic fields offer a highly adaptable approach to 3D volumetric slicing, enabling optimised toolpath generation for complex geometries. This presentation introduces the geodesic slicing framework implemented within Aibuild, showcasing its integration with the platform’s comprehensive suite of design and fabrication tools. The method supports a general-purpose workflow that minimises the need for complex input parameters, making it suitable for a wide range of use cases.

We will demonstrate the current implementation and available controls, and present a variety of outputs generated using this method, including freeform surfaces, multi-directional features, and branching structures, highlighting the potential of geodesic slicing to streamline fabrication in both experimental and production environments.

In this episode, Maia Zheliazkova of ON explores LightSpray, a radical new approach to performance footwear manufacturing from her presentation at CDFAM Amsterdam.

Developed by ON’s Innovation Team, LightSpray fuses computational design, robotics, and thermoplastic materials to create ultra-light, seamless uppers in a single automated step—directly onto the shoe’s midsole.

Zheliazkova explains how the process eliminates traditional multi-part assembly, reduces waste and emissions, and enables unprecedented control over fit and function. The result is the Cloudboom Strike LS, a 30-gram running shoe produced with 75% less CO₂ compared to standard ON shoes.

From robotic toolpaths to programmable material behavior, this talk highlights how integrated design and fabrication can unlock new performance frontiers, not just in footwear, but across industries.

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