Adding ribs to a structure is a well-known way to increase stiffness and other properties of a mechanical structure. Casting and injection molding are the typical manufacturing processes where ribs are usually used. In this study, we present a workflow which starts with a topology optimization, incorporating rib design manufacturing constraints. The reconstruction assistant then extracts a neutral-fiber skeleton to easily rebuild clean rib designs for casted or injection-molded parts. This skeleton uses CAD-sketches and extrusions and can thereby be easily incorporated into existing CAD-design workflow. To the authors’ knowledge, this unique CAD-integration has not yet been published for rib design based on the results of topology optimization results. The full workflow is executed within a single CAD-environment and consists of following steps: The initial design space definition for the topology optimization is performed on the CAD-geometry. The simulation setup, including meshing, loads and boundary conditions, is then applied directly on the CAD-geometry – a process we also refer to as MODSIM, which is a unified data model for modelling (CAD) and simulation. Next, the topology optimization is set up with rib design manufacturing constraints and executed. Following the optimization, the reconstruction assistant is executed to extract the final rib design. This design is finally updated, after which a validation simulation is automatically set up, executed and validated.