Finite Element Art

Sometimes I work on a project and "all of by sudden," to quote a professor of mine, something appears that looks really cool. Take a look for yourself:

Finite Element Bolt Simulation

A coworker and friend pointed out to me a few weeks ago that I spend all of my time looking at the same eight colors. Sometimes they are all distributed in a way that is simple aesthetic.

To give you an idea of what you are looking at, the lowest part of the bolt is the part with thread engagement. The middle section we machine to a smaller diameter for testing purposes and that is the area we are most concerned about. Finally the top is unchanged from a normal bolt. Yes, it is science and engineering, but it is art too.