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Improving the link between computer-assisted design and configuration tools for the design of mechanical products

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 January 2013

Roberto Raffaeli ,
Maura Mengoni  and
Michele Germani
Roberto Raffaeli*
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Science, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, Ancona, Italy
Maura Mengoni
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Science, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, Ancona, Italy
Michele Germani
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Science, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, Ancona, Italy
*
Reprint requests to: Roberto Raffaeli, Department of Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Science, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 12-60131 Ancona, Italy. E-mail: r.raffaeli@univpm.it
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Abstract

The competitive market forces companies to offer tailored products to meet specific customer needs. To avoid wasting time, design efforts generally address the configuration of existing solutions, without producing substantial design modifications. Configuration tools are used to achieve customized products starting from a common platform. Many approaches have been successfully proposed in literature to configure products. However, in the mechanical field they need further investigation in order to be efficiently linked to computer-aided design technologies. Research is focused on tools and methods to automatically produce geometrical models and improve the flexibility of the continuous product updating process. In this context, this paper aims to combine product configuration approaches with design automation techniques in order to support design activities of products to fulfill specific requirements. The approach is based on entities called configurable virtual prototypes. Three different domains are managed and connected via configurable virtual prototypes: product specifications, geometrical data, and product knowledge. In particular, geometry recognition rules are used to identify the parameterization of parts and the assembly mating constraints. The approach is exemplified through an industrial case study where a tool has been developed on the basis of the described method. Advantages of the system are shown in terms of achieved product configuration efficiency.

Keywords

Design AutomationGeometrical KnowledgeModularityProduct Configuration
Type
Regular Articles
Information
AI EDAM , Volume 27 , Issue 1 , February 2013 , pp. 51 - 64
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013

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