Abstract
Abstract Design changes are frequently encountered in the product development process. The complexity of the design changes is multiplied when the product design involves multiple engineering disciplines. Very often, a simple change in one part may propagate to its neighboring parts, therefore, affects the entire product assembly. Both parts and assembly must be regenerated for a physically valid product model, at the same time, the regenerated product model must meet designer’s expectations. When a product is being developed in a Concurrent Design and Manufacturing (CDM) environment, the design changes are usually implemented first by altering geometry of the product represented in computer-aided design (CAD) solid models. If the product solid model is not parameterized properly, the changes in geometry often lead to invalid parts or assembly. At the part level, the changes may yield a solid model with invalid geometric features if it is not properly parameterized. In this case, the entire product assembly is in vain. Even when individual parts of the product are regenerated correctly, parts may still penetrate to their neighboring parts or leave excessive gaps among them, if the solid model is not properly parameterized at the assembly level. In this paper, solid modeling and assembly techniques implemented in two major CAD tools, Pro/ENGINEER and SolidWorks, will be discussed. A set of guidelines will be proposed for the designers to parameterize the solid models in order to capture the design intents more effectively in the product virtual mockup. These guidelines at both part and assembly levels will support designers to successfully conduct product design in the CDM environment. A number of examples, including a slider-crank mechanism and its crankshaft, a single-piston airplane engine and its components, as well as a number of simpler parts are presented to illustrate and demonstrate the parameterization method and guidelines proposed for both Pro/ENGINEER and SolidWorks.
Highlights
After significant research and development in the past two decades, the feature-based and parametric modeling techniques have become a reality [1,2]
Solid modeling and assembly techniques implemented in two major computer-aided design (CAD) tools, Pro/ENGINEER and SolidWorks, will be discussed
With the parameterized product model, the designer can make a design change by changing design variable values and asking the CAD software to automatically regenerate the parts that are affected by the change, regenerating the entire assembly
Summary
After significant research and development in the past two decades, the feature-based and parametric modeling techniques have become a reality [1,2]. The featurebased and parametric modeling techniques have been widely adopted in the mainstream CAD tools, such as Pro/ENGINEER, SolidWorks, SolidEdge, Unigraphics, CATIA, I-DEAS, and even Mechanical Desktop of AutoCAD. With such techniques, designers are able to create parts through geometric features, and assemble parts or subassemblies for the product digital mockup in the CAD environment. The parts stay intact, maintain adequate assembly placement constraints, and the change does not induce interference nor leave excessive gaps between parts.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
