TexGen — The Complete Guide: Free Geometric Modelling of Woven Textiles and Composites
TexGen is open-source software (GPLv2) developed at the University of Nottingham for modelling the geometry of woven fabrics and the composites built from them. It is widely used in research as the first step in predicting the mechanical and thermal properties of a composite from its internal structure.
TexGen
University of Nottingham (TexGen team)
Geometric modelling of woven textiles and textile composites, with export to ABAQUS, IGES and STEP.
Get it from the vendorWhat you get
- Weave wizards — for 2D fabrics and 3D weaves.
- Yarn structure — the path of every yarn, including cross-sections that vary along it.
- Export to FEA — a model ready for analysis in ABAQUS, including voxel meshes.
- Geometry export — IGES and STEP for other CAD and simulation programs.
- Python scripting — parametric model building and automation.
How it is used
You build the repeating unit cell of the fabric, export it to finite element software, and apply periodic boundary conditions to derive stiffnesses, thermal conductivity or permeability. TexGen itself does not solve — it builds the geometry and the model. It is a specialist tool for researchers and composite engineers, not general CAD software.
Related tools
To analyse the exported file in a free solver — PrePoMax with CalculiX. To work with STEP geometry — FreeCAD. To view results — ParaView.
PrePoMax
University of Maribor
Full graphical front end for CalculiX — meshing, materials, loads and results in one window.
Get it from the vendor
CalculiX
CalculiX Project
Open-source FEA with syntax close to Abaqus. The solver behind the FreeCAD FEM workbench.
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FreeCAD
FreeCAD Project
Open-source parametric 3D modeller with workbenches for solid modelling, FEM, drafting and BIM.
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ParaView
Kitware / Sandia / Los Alamos
Large-scale simulation post-processing — slices, streamlines and animation.
Get it from the vendorThe bottom line
TexGen is the best-known open tool for building models of woven fabrics — a free starting point for composite materials research.