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Why is Design Automation Software not Everywhere?

Schotborgh, Wouter; Kokkeler, Frans; Tragter, Hans; van Houten, Fred • 2009

proceeding: Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED'09), Vol. 8
section: Design Information and Knowledge
editor: Norell Bergendahl, M.; Grimheden, M.; Leifer, L.; Skogstad, P.; Lindemann, U.
pages: 1-10

abstract: This paper discusses the question how to increase the amount of design automation software in industry. First, the contemporary industrial context is outlined to motivate the need for automation of parametric routine design problems. Second, the knowledge engineering (KE) activity is identified as a bottleneck that prevents large scale deployment of design automation software. Knowledge engineering is seen as the process to construct a mathematical model of a design problem. Literature and our own research results are used to illustrate that the KE activity for new problem automation is often unpredictable in terms of the activities to execute and time it will take. A correlation seems to be missing between the problem size and the required knowledge engineering effort. Possibly, this is a result from the diversity of design problems and the tacit nature of expert knowledge. A route toward more prescribed KE is suggested by tightly integrating theories from cognitive design, knowledge engineering and constraint satisfaction. The goal is to closely relate knowledge acquisition (interviewing of experts) with the knowledge modeling activity and automation algorithm.

keywords: design automation, knowledge engineering, method

Functional Basis and B-Cube: Alternative or Complementary Models?

Chulvi, Vicente; Vidal, Rosario • 2009

abstract: Human beings have always tried to classify knowledge in order to manage it. A common way to structure knowledge in a hierarchical manner is by means of taxonomies. Within the context of engineering and functional design several function taxonomies have been developed. The most significant reconciliation of function taxonomies nowadays are those provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, called the functional basis. A new model for managing knowledge, the B-Cube model, has been developed based on the main achievements of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, namely, reduced ambiguity and increased uniformity. The present work explains, in general lines, the B-Cube model developed by the authors, and it shows a comparison between this model and the functional basis. The aim of the paper is to defend the usefulness of B-Cube in functional design within the Function-Behaviour-Structure framework, and to demonstrate that it can fit the Behaviour level and work together with the functional basis.

keywords: FBS framework; B-Cube; functional design; functional basis

Definition of a Knowledge Representation Based on Functional CAD Models

Bluntzer, Jean-Bernard; Gomes, Samuel; Sagot, Jean-Claude • 2009

abstract: How to merge the users' requirements into a complete design process has now become a reality. That is so in the automotive industry, from vehicle styling to specific facilities in connection with lifestyle evolution. Included in a globalizing lower cost approach, such requirements need to be processed quickly without impacting on the product robustness. In order to answer these needs, this paper proposes a specific design method in order to reduce the time dedicated to routine engineering. This method is directly integrated into our self-developed PLM system in order to work in a worldwide and collaborative design environment. The main objective of our methodology is to define the CAD model geometry according to the modifications and the customer needs. In order to manage such control, we can identify functional parameters and functional rules through the functional requirements and the input constraints. Moreover, we can extract the specific parameters and the specific rules from the older CAD models stored in the PDM system from the previous and validated project in order to create a new kind of knowledge and using it as an input for our Case-Based Reasoning process.

keywords: Case-Based Reasoning, Routine Engineering, PLM, CAD modelling, Knowledge-Based Engineering

Strategies for the Collaborative Use of CAD Product Models

Ding, Lian; Ball, Alexander; Patel, Manjula; Matthews, Jason; Mullineux, Glen • 2009

abstract: Today, more and more companies are shifting from design and manufacturing to provide through-life support. Product models, as one of the most important types of product information, must be communicated, shared, and retrieved between distributed design teams and various users or partners at different stages of a product lifecycle. However, the conventional CAD models cannot satisfy these demands due to the ephemeral nature of the CAD systems and issues of proprietary formats, the protection of intellectual property, and the recording of domain-specific information. To overcome some limitations of CAD models, lightweight representations have been developed during the last decade to support collaborative product development. This paper aims to address the issue of long-lived product models using a combination of CAD models and lightweight representations. A new strategy, which integrates the techniques of the annotation of product models and the registration and storage of representation information, is proposed to support product models and other related information to be shared and reused over the long-term product life.

keywords: product model, CAD, Lightweight representation, representation information repository

Providing Value to a Business Using a Lightweight Design System to Support Knowledge Reuse by Designers

Reed, Nicholas J.; Scanlan, James P.; Wills, Gary B.; Halliday, Steven T. • 2009

abstract: This paper describes an alternative approach to knowledge based systems in engineering than traditional geometry or explicit knowledge focused systems. Past systems have supported product optimization rather than creative solutions and provide little benefit to businesses for bespoke and low volume products or products which do not benefit from optimisation. The approach here addresses this by supporting the creativity of designers through codified tacit knowledge and encouraging knowledge reuse for bespoke product development, in particular for small to medium sized enterprises. The implementation and evaluation of the approach is described within a company producing bespoke fixtures and tooling in shorter than average lead times. The active support of knowledge management in the company is intended to add value to the business by further reducing the lead times of the designs and creating a positive impact to business processes. The evaluation demonstrates a viable alternative framework to the traditional management of knowledge in engineering, which could be implemented by other small to medium enterprises.

keywords: Engineering Design, Knowledge Management, Knowledge Based Systems

Function-Based Solution Retrieval and Semantic Search in Mechanical Engineering

Gaag, Andreas; Kohn, Andreas; Lindemann, Udo • 2009

abstract: Providing relevant information at the right time to the right person is a key-factor for successful products and for efficient processes in mechanical engineering. To support the information chain in the area of product development - and especially in retrieving existing solutions - different approaches exist (e.g. keyword search). Nevertheless, various barriers still hinder a fast and easy access to information about existing solutions. The presented research approach improves knowledge reuse in the intra- or inter-enterprise information exchange by using semantic technologies. The access to relevant information about possible solutions bases on describing solutions by functions. These functions are abstracted and structured according to their goals. The function-based description is realized in an ontology model, based on classifications and standards used in German industries. Undertaking the first step, the ontology is built by extracting relevant concepts from different documents. The presented research approach will be used to structure solutions in a web-based electronic-market-platform and provides the access to various solutions from different sectors and enterprises.

keywords: information retrieval, product development, solution search, function models, ontology development

Knowledge Transfer between Service and Design Phases in the Oil Industry

Vianello, Giovanna; Ahmed, Saeema • 2009

abstract: The communication between a company's departments involved in the different phases of product lifecycle is crucial in order to correct faults from previous products. This paper illustrates a case study from the oil industry where knowledge transfer across departments is analysed. Interviews with engineering designers and service engineers were carried out. An investigation of knowledge arising from the operation of drilling machineries was conducted and related to the knowledge relevant for the designers; furthermore the mechanisms involved in the transfer of knowledge between service and design were investigated. Differences in knowledge needs were observed in the two departments: designers were more orientated towards knowledge of machinery at a component level while service engineers were interested in obtaining an overview of the systems. The communication between departments consisted prevalently upon information pushed by service engineers to designers and when information flew from design to operation this was likely to be pulled by service engineers. These observations have implications on the structuring and capturing of knowledge for the different user groups.

keywords: Knowledge management, experience transfer, service, product lifecycle

User-Designer Collaboration in the Design Process of Surgical Instruments: New Aspects for Annotation as a Communication Tool

Hisarciklilar, Onur; Rasoulifar, Rahi; Boujut, Jean-François; Thomann, Guillaume; Villeneuve, François • 2009

abstract: Today, collaboration is no more limited to the designers' sphere. Especially the design of products or systems dedicated to expert users requires the active participation of the users themselves. The aim of this paper is to explore the design collaboration process between designers and expert users in the specific case of new surgical instruments. Two design meetings have been studied; one technical design review without the user, and one design validation meeting with the expert user. Designers were using an annotation tool as a communication support during the design process, before and during the first meeting. Our observations showed that the designers were not able to make decisions about the technical solutions that contained user related issues. Moreover, the expert user's comments during the validation meeting altered the proposed solution. In conclusion, it seemed that the actual design organization should be changed in order to integrate the expert user more actively. Annotation as a communication tool proved to be useful for technical exchanges, but we found important limitations for non technical users, we then propose solutions for further improvement of the tool.

keywords: collaborative design, user integration, design communication, annotation, design artefacts

Visual Browsing in Product Development Processes

Eckstein, Raiko; Henrich, Andreas • 2009

abstract: In modern product development a wealth of knowledge is developed and stored in electronic form which leads to challenging retrieval tasks. Opposing to that, companies need to reduce development times and costs to stay competitive. Therefore, it is necessary to reuse existing knowledge in the company that comprises existing parts and components amongst others. This paper introduces an exploratory approach to support engineers in retrieval tasks in product development. We present a search engine prototype which employs data visualization techniques to expand the idea of browsing and faceted search. We propose the usage of parallel coordinates plots known from multi-dimensional data visualization as a method for issuing faceted search queries. Next to the higher expressiveness of the possible queries which can be stated, the introduced solution offers better visual insight about the artifacts from product development. Additionally, we introduce ways to influence rankings by user preference functions which help weighting the search criteria.

keywords: Product Development, Information Retrieval, Visualization, Faceted Search

Toward a Process and Method for Tracing the Development of Information Objects Used in Engineering Design

Storga, Mario; Darlington, Mansur; Culley, Steve; Marjanovic, Dorian • 2009

abstract: The work reported here builds on the framework for EDI development presented previously by discussing the requirements for information object traceability in respect of the context-bearing information that must be associated with the design information, the nature of the information object development process and the process, requirements and activities for the traceability process itself. In order to provide a continuously updatable and accessible record of the development of an engineering design information object, authors propose the use of the "traceability scenario". The key characteristic of the traceability scenario is that the traceability operation is performed at certain point in a time, in order to create a traceable item from some of the elements of the underlying engineering design process. It is concluded that the greater the extent that semantics are defined for traceable activities and objects, the greater the "intelligence" that can be brought to bear in tracing information development.

keywords: traceability, information object development, engineering design

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