Top3d - An Efficient 3D Topology Optimization Program

Top3d is a FREE MATLAB® program that solves topology optimization problem in 3D. The program is:

compact without sacrificing readability,
easy-to-use without losing complexity, and
multi-functional without programming immensity.

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Publication

Since Oct 2013, the MATLAB program Top3d has been downloaded ### times by ### unique users from ### countries.

Installation

Save the program top3d.m (8 kB) and start MATLAB in the same directory. The program can be promoted by line:

top3d(30,10,2,0.5,3.0,1.2)

A quick start guide is available here.
More step-by-step tutorials are also available freely from here.
Click here for an archive of all top3d versions.

Documentation

The program has been exhaustively explained in the journal publication:

K. Liu and A. Tovar, "An efficient 3D topology optimization code written in Matlab", Struct Multidisc Optim, 50(6): 1175-1196, 2014, doi:10.1007/s00158-014-1107-x

Errata can be found here.

Top3dGUI

Top3d now has its Graphical User Interface! Download the GUI (beta version) top3dGUI_v05.zip (161 kB) and type the following MATLAB command:

top3dGUI

What's new in Top3dGUI v0.5?
Click here for an archive of all Top3dGUI versions.

Top3dSTL

Take Top3d results for 3D printing using Top3dSTL!

Top3dSTL_v3.m (10 kB) is a simple STL writter for Top3d topologies. Options such as binary or ascii format, cubic or isosurfce reresentation are available.

top3dSTL('MyTop3d.STL', xPhys, 'Format', 'ascii')

Click here for an archive of all Top3dSTL versions.

Tutorials

Top3d has many extensions available without heavy investment in programming, some of them are:

Using MATLAB® fmincon
Define active/passive elements
Apply gray scale filter
Apply multiple load cases
Using iterative solver
Apply sensitivity filter
Using continuation
Change boundary conditions
Compliant mechanism

Learn More