ovidner / staircase-optigurator

An optimizing configurator for spiral staircases, using Onshape as an input method and OpenMDAO as optimization engine

Staircase optigurator

The Staircase optigurator is an optimizing configurator for spiral staircases. It utilizes Flask and OpenMDAO in conjunction with Onshape to calculate and present pareto-optimal spiral staircase solutions to case-specific specifications. It was developed as part of a research project between Linköping University, Weland AB and others.

This is strictly for experimental use.

Prerequisites

• The application uses the Onshape feature available in https://cad.onshape.com/documents/d69f2c5f691ab246b4955287 as an input. Add the feature to your Onshape account.
• You need to register an OAuth application at the Onshape developer portal to gain access to the Onshape API. See separate instructions.
• To run this under (less un)realistic circumstances, you need some proprietary data in the optigurator_data folder. See separate instructions.

Setting up a development environment and starting the application server

1. Make sure you have Python 3.7 and Pipenv installed on your computer. The procedure differs largely on different platforms.
2. Clone this repository to your computer.
3. If you have received data files from the authors, copy them into the data folder. If not, duplicate all .example files in the data folder and remove the .example part of their filename. Modify them accordingly.
4. Start a command-line shell in the repository root and run pipenv install --dev followed by pipenv run dev-server.
5. Navigate your browser to https://localhost:5000. Accept the HTTPS certificate or generate your own key and certificate (replace the dev-https.(crt|key) files).

Registering an Onshape OAuth application

This is not needed if you have received data/settings files from the authors.

1. Go to the corresponding page at the Onshape developer portal.
2. Fill in the needed information:
   • Name: Whatever you want
   • Primary format: Whatever you want
   • Summary: Whatever you want
   • Redirect URLs:
     • https://localhost:5000/oauth/onshape/authorized
     • https://127.0.0.1:5000/oauth/onshape/authorized
   • iframe URL: https://localhost:5000
   • Supports collaboration: Yes
   • Permissions:
     • Application can read your profile information
     • Application can read your documents
3. Submit and note the client ID and secret. Add them accordingly to the optigurator_data/settings.py file.
4. (optional) If you want to use the application from within Onshape (as a document tab/element), you also need to register a store entry for the OAuth application.