Cadfil Vessel Design
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Introduction
Cadfil Vessel Design is a new feature at Cadfil version 9.85. It is designed to greatly increase productivity making multi-layer windings for pressure vessels and other parts that are cylinders with two end-caps. A user can rapidly create many layers with helical, and hoop paths. Diameter increase is automatically adjusted layer by layer and when finished the input files for FEA model create are automatically made. Individual layers or the whole design can be viewed from within the options layer by layer. CAD profiles can be generated (IGES/STEP) without leaving the main dialog. Cadfil Vessel Design for the most part supersedes Vessel with Endcaps which deal with single layers at at time. Having created a sequence of layers, Cadfil Vessel Design can create CAD data (STEP/IGES) of the external profile after each layer and suggest a revised mandrel that could be used for a subsequent sequence of layers. For vessels with a large number of layers, multiple combined windings from this option can be further combined if required. After all layers have been created and the design process is complete, joining paths can be added automatically within the combine programs dialog to allow manufacture of the vessel.
Starting with Cadfil 9.92 some Cadfil dialogs have been getting a new looks with a Ribbon (Tool) Bars with Button Icons. These new dialogs also have a status bar at the bottom to display tool tips that give some description of a ribbon button when the mouse is hovering over it.
Overview of usage
Cadfil Vessel design is accessed from the QuickCAD main menu and is driven by a single dialog that has some sub-dialog functions. On opening the dialog you can read in an existing design. If starting from nothing you must first select or create a mandrel (Mandrel Pick/Mandrel Edit buttons). Some guidance on mandrel is given in the a following section. You must then set a material. The material includes roving details, number of rovings, resin and fibre volume or mass fraction. The user can select materials from a database or select pre-defined Material Recipes. You must select a name for the design using the SAVE option. The design (job) name is shown in a box near the top of the dialog. The job name is important as files are created for each layer and for other output files using the job name as a prefix. These items, mandrel, material and job name must be set, as, until they are, most other options are not available.
Open and Saving the design parameters
Open/Save
The Open button can be used to open and read a parameter file (.par) with an existing Cadfil Vessel Design data. The file name (job name) is put in the header section of the main dialog for reference. The name will but used as a prefix for any automatically created files. The SAVE button saves the current parameter data, and if a name has been pre-set using "Open" this will be the default but you can also save the data as a new name. The design does not need to be complete to save it.
Mandel Define/Import/Modify
This opens the axisymmetric mandrel editor. this allows an existing mandrel file to be opened, or a new mandrel to be created. New mandrels can be created by parametric input or CAD data import. Mandrel editing and other mandrel features are available within this dialog. These are discussed in a separate Mandrel (X,R) Edit topic.
Mandrel Guidance discussion
For a mandrel to be imported it must meet the following criteria, it must be a cylinder of constant radius with an endcap (dome) at either end. For best results the dome should be a full dome closing to zero radius. Bosses and complex end shapes that are outside the wound area can cause confusion for the algorithms. You can still map the winding material in the FEA options onto a mandrel with bosses. A half mandrel with the symmetry option can also be used.
Material Recipe Selection
This allows material selection fibre, resin, number of rovings, volume/mass fraction. A predefined recipe can also be selected. Material selection has its own main topic, Material Database
Line/Layer Edit Buttons
The data table has a series of lines each of which is a filament wound layer, either a helical, hoop. The line action buttons are used to modify and update the data table.
Add Layer
The Add button adds a new line to the table, when it is clicked, it opens the 'Line Modify Panel' shown below. The Add function will always add the new layer at the end of the winding list
Edit Layer
The Edit button opens the selected line in the 'Line Modify Panel' shown below. You can also open the line modify window by double clicking the line you wish to edit. If you wish to change the values of a line, you can edit them in this window, before using 'ok' to save the new data over the existing line.
Insert Layer
The Insert button has a similar function as the Add button, creating a new line using the data input. However, the Insert button will place the new layer at the selected line in the list, not at the end of the list.
Delete Layer
The Delete button will delete a selected line from the list of layers.
View
The view button shows the simulation of the band pattern for the selected line in the Cadfil Views dialog. If no line is selected then it will show the
combined payout paths of all layers in the Cadfil Views dialog. It is the same as viewing a combined winding (ctl.) file with the 'View Multiple Pay Paths' option in the
Main Options menu. 
Calculate
The Calculate button will recalculate the selected line. It is necessary to recalculate a line if any changes have been made either to that line itself, or any of the lines before it. If the 'Auto update on' option is selected, calculation of all lines will be done automatically whenever it is necessary.
CAD Profiles
The CAD Profiles button will initially recalculate all layers, and then save the parameter file. Thickness profiles for each layer are then calculated and exported as Cad data (IGES and STEP). If the show profiles box is ticked, the 3D viewer displays the mandrel and thickness profiles. The 3D display windows need to be closed to return to the main design dialog.
FEA - Finite Element Analysis
After CAD Profiles has been used to ensure all the output files are saved and up to date, the FEA button will become available to use. This launches the FEA Analysis Dialog. For a new design the user then selects the relevant FEA system and Options and additional data to allow a design analysis to be made. All the FEA parameters are saved with Design parameters job so that the FEA only needs to be set up the first time. If you go back to add or delete or otherwise modify the layers you do not then need to respecify all the FEA system parameters as the last ones used will be the default for the current design should you need to make a new FEA analysis.
Join
The Join button should be clicked after the design is finished, and the layers must be joined together to allow for manufacture of the vessel. From Cadfil 9.91 the joining path function does not create the joining paths inside the vessel design table. It was found when refining a design that adding and deleting layers while simultaneously managing the joining paths becomes very confusing. It makes more sense to finalise the design, make the FEA, and then, at the final manufacturing stage, add the joining paths needed to finalise the winding. The Join paths button now launches the Combined winding editing options, which is the final stage before manufacture, and joining paths should be added here. This facility my be added back into Vessel Design at a future date, after some consideration of improving the software work flow. WARNING! After adding joining paths in the combine winding dialog you are advised to save the combined winding with a modified name. The reason is that if you later update the vessel in the main design dialog it will automatically create a new .ctl file OVERWRITING the manually modified one with join paths!
Help
The help button displays this topic. It is also worth looking in the examples and videos section in the help Appendices
Exit
The Exit button closes the Cadfil Vessel Winder, it does not save!
Controlling settings
Auto Pattern Mode
If the Auto Pattern box is ticked then when calculating helical layers the band pattern at the top of the table is automatically selected. If it is not ticked than every time the layer is recalculated the user will have to manually select a band pattern. If you are developing a winding with many layers and particularly if Auto Update feature is selected this can get very tedious as a change to any layers requires the update of all subsequent layers. It is better to have Auto Pattern selected and if you want to make custom band pattern selections deselect Auto Pattern and recalculate everything at the end before exiting. This will save time.
Auto Update
If you add/change/insert a layer, Cadfil does not automatically calculate the data for that line. A change to any layers requires the update of all subsequent layers. You will see a 'Y' for yes in the last column of the data indicating that a re-calculate is needed. If Auto Update is selected than any layers needing to be updated will be updated automatically. This is probably the best option unless you have a large number of layers and/or you computer is very slow. If you have not selected Auto Update you will need to use the Calculate button described in the previous section.
Show Profiles
if this box is ticked when the CAD Profiles button is clicked thickness profiles for each layer are calculated and exported as Cad data (IGES and STEP) and the 3D viewer displaying the mandrel and thickness profiles is displayed. The 3D display windows need to be closed to return to the main design dialog.
Mandrel Direction
By default this is set to +1 to give a positive direction on mandrel rotation. The other valid option is -1
Friction Coefficient
This is the default maximum friction that will be used in creating non-geodesic helical or joining paths. A value is set by default but can be changed.