This is in regard to Roopinder Tara’s editorial in upFront.eZine #1,038, "When Generative Design Doesn't Work."
The orange Microbus wheel design demonstrates the pretension of programmers who have never maintained a car. Drive those fanciful wheels on real-world roads with rain, dirty snow, dust, mud, and other detritus. Add a little dispersed grease from under the hood, a hyper-fine mist of brake fluid, and a lot of accumulated brake pad dust.
 The Corvette owned by Mr Wells
Attempt to wash those filthy gray-black monstrosities by using your favorite cleaning methodology and discover just how much direct rubbing contact is required on every surface to keep car wheels looking clean.
Simpler accessible forms explain an important appearance constraint for wheel design. Note the attached picture of my car with simple, clean wheels.
- Steve Wells
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All this effort to take designers out of the design process is disturbing!
- Phil Champ (@philchamp_ via Twitter)
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I feel generative is the way to go if the object is purely functional in one parameter (example load bearing) and there are no aesthetics involved. In the case of a car wheel, there is aesthetics, aerodynamics, and cooling of brakes involved. Weight is just one parameter to optimize.
Moreover, if there was a way do all the above, Tesla would do it first!
- Harish Manohar (@HarishManohar via Twitter)
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Roopinder Tara's guest editorial on generative design was an interesting article, raising important issues. But he never directly answered the question: Is the VW Microbus wheel redesign truly a failure?
- Randall Newton
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Let's be clear. It's like he wasn't at AU, where they showed manufacturable geometry from generative design in Fusion, no sticks or bones! Lazy, opinionated journalism. Perhaps Roopinder Tara needs a fact checker, maybe someone who actually uses the software.
- Cad Monkey (@Monkey_CAD via Twitter)
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In his defense, he does mention that Fusion can constrain you to manufacturable geometry. And I don't think he is saying that generative design as a design process is a mistake. We could all benefit from more realistic examples that manifest themselves in the real world.
- Lynn Allen (@Lynn_Allen via Twitter)
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That generative design is exactly the way it should be for minimal weight of a wheel transmitting torque and subjected to lateral loads.
  Michell structure used by race car wheels
I know this because I used Genesis software to create one 13 years ago. They’re called Michell structures and you can choose how much you want to remove based on manufacturing limitations. It doesn’t have to be as extreme as the VW wheel.
- chrishuck (@chrishuck via Twitter)
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It’s a case of much of the premise of the article is simply incorrect, which would have taken a minute or so’s research to discover. But if you want to get into it, comparing a spoked bicycle with a car wheel makes no sense. The loading conditions are dramatically different. Different masses, different loading positions, and different operating conditions.
“Most generative design algorithms have the inability to produce shapes that can be manufactured by conventional manufacturing means.” Incorrect. Entirely. And has been two for decades.
“Shape optimization in generative design seems 100%-based on bone growth algorithms, and so produces bumpy shapes. Bone growth, specifically growth between two pieces of a bone fracture” Nope. Read up on Wolff’s law
The wheels were cast in aluminum.
- Al Dean [@alistardean via Twitter]
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I thought it was a terrific editorial. I think there is way too much hype coming out of tech these days. It is particularly acute in construction.
- Leo Schlosberg
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Generative design can be used for some great things. Making a funky rim, dangerous steering wheel, or ugly mirror bracket are not those great things.
Autodesk suffers from a lack of engineering talent for real things, and mostly has people who only want the "wow" factor.
- NotAndrewAganost (@NotAganost via Twitter)
   Left to right: mirror bracket, steering wheel, and seat support output by Autodesk's generative design algorithms and Fusion software
[image source Autodesk]- - -
What is the point of generative design if the object is this simple. I don't think it's functional.
- Mister Maker (@MvdH74169613 on Twitter)
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Generative Creative Writing
- Gustavo Fontana (@gustojunk on Twitter)
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Just a note to say how interesting I find your newsletter. Working as an architect with my toes in CAD and BIM and databases you raise interesting questions, give good insight, and remind me of things that have happened a while ago.
I thought that I would respond to the article from Roopinder Tara on the VW Microbus rims. In my earlier life, I saw a local company test early cast aluminium rims by loading the vehicle to spec and then doing ‘figure of eight’ circuits. What was astounding to me was how quickly the rims failed! I was wondering if any testing had been carried out on the rims or were they simply an exercise in generative design by software.
Your comment about bone growth is true. While hang gliding I managed to get a spiral fracture to my left upper arm. This subsequently broke in the cast and after a long healing and re-abilitation process (through board sailing and off-road motorcycling) I regained 95% of the arm's use. Over the last forty five years I have seen the bump recede to where it is not easily visible.
All the best and I wish you all a wonderful 20-Plenty.
- Rudd van Deventer
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