ARL Topologies

6.7easy start · #7 of 20
in Generative Design Software

Free to practise onyes
Free trialnot on record
Well documentedyes
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Runs on self-hosted.

ARL Topologies is ranked #7 of 20 in generative design software on The Geeks Club. It runs on Self-hosted. There is a free plan.

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All plans

CC0-licensed software Free Compile from source · C++11 compiler and listed libraries required github.com · 4 Oct 2026

Compared on generative design software

Simulation integration: Yes
Optimization methods: topology

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The record

Purpose: ARL_Topologies is an extensible topology optimization program intended as both a research platform and a general-use tool.
Design: The program separates topology optimization into representation, optimizer, and objective function components.
Representations: It supports 2D and 3D element-based density discretization with SIMP interpolation and nodal-based density discretization using Heaviside projection and filtering.
Mesh inputs: It accepts ASCII ExodusII or GMSH meshes, as well as pixel or voxel rectangular regions.
Optimizers: Implemented optimizers include optimality criterion, method of moving asymptotes and BFGS via NLopt, and a genetic algorithm.
Objective function: The implemented objective function is static structural finite element analysis.
Outputs: Density-based representations can be post-processed to STL, and output formats include VTK, GMSH, and Matlab.
Extensibility: The objective function is loaded from a shared library, allowing the program to be extended to different problems.
Build requirements: Building requires a C++11-compatible compiler and libraries including CGAL, Boost, GMP, MPFR, PugiXML, NLopt, and Eigen for the finite element solver.
MPI: The default build configuration uses MPI, which can be removed by deleting -DUSE_MPI; the included FEM library does not use MPI.
Usage: The program runs from the command line with an XML input file, with an optional -mpi argument when MPI is enabled and useful.
License: The repository license describes CC0 1.0 Universal terms, with a stated patent-license modification for contributions.
Contributions: The project says outside contributions must include a Contributor License Agreement.
Maker: The repository is published by USArmyResearchLab and describes the project as a work of the United States government.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on The Geeks Club

Best Generative Design Software in 2026#7 of 20

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Sources

github.com/USArmyResearchLab/ARL_Topologies· checked 4 Oct 2026
github.com/USArmyResearchLab/ARL_Topologies/blob/m· checked 4 Oct 2026