Development of a User-Focused Hexahedral Meshing Software for Swept Surfaces

Hexahedral meshing plays a critical role in high-fidelity computational solid mechanics. However, many tools remain inaccessible due to the cost of purchase or a poor user experience. In this work, we describe efforts to facilitate a high-quality user experience with a new hexahedral meshing software developed using topological sweeping operations. These efforts include integrating the tool with existing software for engineering design, preprocessing, meshing, and visualization; creating a Python-based application protocol interface (API) to allow for easier scripting and interactions without requiring experience in C++; creating a user manual to discuss how to operate the software; and performing a simple case study on five potential users of various background about how to interact with the software. Feedback indicated the value of providing additional background and examples and will help improve future work on the user experience of this software in order to ultimately create a meaningful tool for educational and industrial use.