A framework for function‐based conceptual design support system

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the framework of conceptual design support tool (CDST) developed to assist designers during conceptual design process. The premise of the study is that, by combining human creativity with computer capabilities, it is possible to perform conceptual design process more efficiently than solely manual design. The study aims to show how conceptual design knowledge can be captured from experienced designers and kept in the computer system for later use and how the developed tool assists designers by handling some of the repetitive and time‐consuming tasks.Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual design process model, which integrates systematic design approach with knowledge‐based system, is proposed. Based on this model, a CDST, which consists of function library, alternative concepts database, different modules for conceptual design activities, and a knowledge‐based system is developed. The alternative concepts database is built based on design reuse philos...