The equivalent orthotropic sizing is "step 1" or our new 7 step optimization method. By creating homogeneous materials from a range of fiber orientations the panel object is sized to determine a target thickness.
Based on this target thickness and fiber orientation, the number of ply drops/adds is calculated across adjacent component boundaries. Then by finding multiple designs that pass all active failure criteria, the facesheets are changed and the ply drops are reduced. At this point we are still using the effective laminate (aka equivalent orthotropic) sizing method.
Then the target layups are created for each facesheet. This is when we transition to discrete layups, where the layup sequence is specified.
This process may be better understood by reviewing our graphics user manual.
ref: HyperSizer Graphics User Manual v5.6
On our website:
http://hypersizer.com/documentation.html-James