Computer-aided Conceptual Design Research Articles

JCISE Editorial – August 2022

JCISE Editorial – August 2022

Data-driven product design toward intelligent manufacturing: A review

With the arrival of the big data era, a lot of valuable data have been generated in the entire product life cycle. The gathered product data contain a lot of design knowledge, which brings new opportunities to enhance the production efficiency and product competitiveness. Data-driven product design is an effective and popular design method, which can provide sufficient support for designers to make smart decisions. This article focuses on a comprehensive review of the existing research in data-driven product design. Based on the product design process, this article summarizes the data-driven design methods into the following aspects: customer requirement analysis, conceptual design, detailed design, and design knowledge support tools. In the customer requirement analysis stage, through data mining and transformation methods, customer requirements are predicted and then mapped to obtain accurate requirement expressions for aiding designers to explore the design space. In the conceptual design stage, the intelligent algorithms and data warehouse technologies are discussed in detail for function reasoning and scheme decision-making to achieve the iterative mapping from customer space to solution space. In the detailed design stage, data modeling languages and methods are introduced to support the simulation verification of the design process. For the design knowledge support tools, the methods of extracting knowledge from product data are discussed in detail, and the realization of computer-aided conceptual design is assisted through the development of knowledge-oriented design tools. Finally, this article summarizes the key points of data-driven product design research and provides an outlook for future research directions.

Optimum spanning for rectangular floor systems – part 1: a unified combinatorial approach

In preliminary layout optimisation problems, it is of great importance how to efficiently represent the structure’s layout so that it could account for the relevant objectives. A unified automated technique is presented for finding the optimum spanning of rectangular floors to simplify the computer-aided conceptual design of multi-storey buildings. The technique supports two commonly used floor systems: flat plates and beam–slab floors, in which the number and the size of spans are variables. The paper describes how conceptual design optimisation of rectangular floor systems involving architectural, structural and constructional objectives can be modelled as a multi-objective combinatorial optimisation problem. The method first is presented in a general form that is able to accommodate different objective functions and is not confined to optimisation under a certain type of action effects, loading systems and/or geometrical constraints. Then, the optimisation problem is formulated for cost optimisation of floor as a specific application of the methodology.

A formal functional representation methodology for conceptual design of material-flow processing devices

AbstractAlthough there has been considerable computer-aided conceptual design research, most of the proposed approaches are domain specific and can merely achieve conceptual design of energy flows-processing systems. Therefore, this research is devoted to the development of a general (i.e., domain-independent) and knowledge-based methodology that can search in a wide multidisciplinary solution space for suitable solution principles for desired material-flow processing functions without designers' biases toward familiar solution principles. It first proposes an ontology-based approach for representing desired material-flow processing functions in a formal and unambiguous manner. Then a rule-based approach is proposed to represent the functional knowledge of a known solution principle in a general and flexible manner. Thereafter, a simulation-based retrieval approach is developed, which can search for suitable solution principles for desired material-flow processing functions. The proposed approaches have been implemented as a computer-aided conceptual design system for test. The conceptual design of a coin-sorting device demonstrates that our functional representation methodology can make the proposed computer-aided conceptual design system to effectively and precisely retrieve suitable solution principles for a desired material-flow processing function.

A novel CACD/CAD/CAE integrated design framework for fiber-reinforced plastic parts

This work presents a novel CACD/CAD/CAE integrated framework for design, modeling, and optimization of fiber-reinforced plastic parts, which can greatly enhance the current design practice by realizing partial automation and multi-stage optimization. To support this framework, a new heterogeneous feature model (HFM) has been developed to model the fiber-reinforced objects and to be transferred between engineering modules. To be specific, the CACD (computer-aided conceptual design) module employs the level-set structure and material optimization to produce the initial design with thickness control, and also the initial HFM; the CAD (computer-aided design) module allows manual editing on the HFM to reflect various design intents; then, the injection molding CAE (computer-aided engineering) simulates the manufacturing process, and the response surface method (RSM) is applied to optimize the process parameters of gate location, injection flow rate, mold temperature and melt temperature, to approach the manufactured fiber orientation distribution close to the optimized result produced by the CACD module; besides, the structural analysis CAE module generates the mechanical performance result to support the CACD module, as well as to validate the final design. By applying this framework, the final structural design including the fiber orientation distribution, will perform better in mechanical properties, and consume less matrix and fiber materials; besides, the design maturity can be approached in shorter time. To prove the effectiveness, a plastic gripper design will be comprehensively studied.

MÉTODOS Y RECURSOS EMPLEADOS EN EL PROCESO DE DISEÑO CONCEPTUAL: RESULTADOS DE UN ESTUDIO EMPÍRICO

In last years research and innovation on Engineering Design showed an interest on conceptual design. The purpose of this study is to investigate engineers and designers preferences on resources, tools and methods applied at conceptual design stage, according to state of the art of computer-aided conceptual design tools. Professional designers and engineers participated on this research. A mixed method study with questionnaire and interviews was applied for this research. The results confirmed main hypotheses and also showed interesting results.

Layered shape grammars

In this article we propose a computer-aided conceptual design system to assist modelling at the early stages of design. More precisely, we address the problem of providing the designer with design alternatives that can be used as starting points of the design process. To guide the generation of such alternatives according to a given set of design requirements, the designer can express both visual knowledge in the form of basic geometric transformation rules, and also logic constraints that guide the modelling process. Our approach is based on the formalism of shape grammars, and supplements the basic algorithms with procedures that integrate logic design constraints and goals. Additionally, we introduce a layered scheme for shape grammars that can greatly reduce the computational cost of shape generation. Shape grammars, constraints, goals and layers can be handled through a graphic environment. We illustrate the functionalities of ShaDe through two use cases taken from the architectural design and video games domains, and also evaluate the performance of the system.

Modeling and representation of a computer-aided conceptual design system

A novel hierarchical function action behavior mechanism (FABM) modeling framework is proposed to conduct intelligent mapping from the overall function to the principle solution, according to the requirements of customers. Based on the hierarchical modeling framework, an object-oriented representation method is developed to express the inheritance and the interconnecting characteristics between any two objects. In addition, the rules of expansion and modification in demand behavior are proposed to solve the combinational explosion problem, and the combinational rules in the mechanism behavior are developed to extend the innovation of the principle solution. A case study on the pan mechanism design for a cooking robot is presented to demonstrate the implementation of intelligent reasoning based on the FABM model.

Behavioral Modeling with Node Matching Algorithm for Conceptual Design

Computer-aided conceptual design of mechatronic products is becoming more and more important since it offers much convenience in design scheme retrieval and enhances the utilization of existing designs. One of the key technologies for computer-aided conceptual design is an efficient search algorithm for retrieving existing designs. As such, it’s necessary to find a feasible way to select the most suitable design out of a number of candidates for further development. By applying behavioral modeling method for representation of conceptual design, this paper proposes a node matching algorithm for searching behavioral model, together with a model similarity evaluation method. Based on these methods, a framework for computer-aided conceptual design is subsequently proposed. Finally, a case study is presented to illustrate the applicability of the proposed methodologies.

Product Form Design Using Virtual Hand and Deformable Models

This paper presents a computer-aided conceptual design system for product form design. This system integrates the virtual hand, which is manipulated by product designer, with deformable models representing the product forms. Product designers can use gestural input and full hand pointing in this system to discover potential new ways for product form design. In the field of industrial design, styling and ergonomics are two important factors that determine a successful product design. Traditionally, designers explore possible concepts by sketching their ideas and then using clay or foam mock-ups to test them during the early phases of product design. Within the proposed system, deformable modeling technique is integrated to provide a useful and efficient tool is provided for product designers that enable to produce product form proposals efficiently without unnecessary trial and error. Designers can input 3D scanning data or a 3D CAD model as an initial prototype. Then, the input model is given the material’s elastic property via the construction of a volume-like mass-spring-damping system. The virtual hand in the system constantly changes gestures as the designer manipulates it with a glove-based input device. The product form will be deformed or shaped according to the amount of force exerted by the virtual hand. A mesh smoothing technique called “PN-triangle” is also used to improve the appearance of the deformed model. Finally, a physical prototype with volume and weight is generated using a rapid prototyping machine. Designers can use these mock-ups to conduct further ergonomic evaluations.

A framework for computer-aided conceptual design and its application to system architecting of mechatronics products

Conceptual design of modern products has become complex due to an increasing number of subsystems and components comprising the system and the multi-disciplinarity of the employed design knowledge. The paper proposes a product modeling framework and a CAD system for conceptual design of complex products focusing on hierarchical system decomposition and consistency management of design information across different engineering disciplines. The framework and CAD system support these tasks with concurrent development of functional and parameter-level product descriptions and comprehensive evaluation of these descriptions from functional, parameter-level, structural, and behavioral aspects. A conceptual design case at a printer manufacturer is demonstrated.

Integration System of Intelligent Design and Modeling Oriented to Requirement Configuration for Palletizing Robot

The method of computer-aided conceptual design is present for the palletizing robot. Intelligent design and modeling are integrated in this system. Index of design requirement is quantified hierarchically and various kinds of attributes of function carriers are digitized. The analytic hierarchy process is used for reference to check the consistency of quantitative value of attributes and the rationality is ensured. Design requirement can be configured flexibly in man-computer interaction module and the optimal scheme is generated automatically according as the computation of evaluation function. Model file of virtual prototype for ADAMS can also be generated automatically by auto-modeling module. Software system of computer-aided conceptual design for palletizing robot is developed based the method mentioned above.

A Computer-Aided Conceptual Design System: Model and Applications

An effort is made to give a description of a computer-aided conceptual design system. A novel Function-Action-Behavior-Mechanism (FABM) modeling framework is proposed to realize mapping from the overall function to principle solution according to customer’s requirements. Expansion and modification rules in the demand behavior are developed to extend the innovation of principle solution. A case study on pan mechanism design for cooking robot is presented to show the procedure of how to implement the intelligent reasoning based on the FABM model.

Conceptual design and modification of freeform surfaces using dual shape representations in augmented reality environments

This paper enables the rapid creation and modification of freeform surfaces inside an augmented reality environment, and focuses on methods for enabling increased flexibility during exploratory, conceptual industrial product design through three-dimensional (3D) sketch-based user input. Specifically, we address the role of multiple shape representations with varying uncertainty levels during 3D conceptual sketching, along with methods to transform between those representations. The main contributions of this work are: (1) the formulation of virtual shape data in multiple, concurrent representations (points and surfaces), and a regression method to transition fluidly back and forth between these representations during design, (2) methods for deforming and exploring the product shape using these multiple representations, and (3) representations of these forms such that designers can explore conceptual designs without the need for detailed surface operations such as trimming or continuity enforcement. Through incorporating these contributions, we introduce techniques that can be incorporated in future computer-aided conceptual design systems. These contributions are demonstrated for freeform surface design, with examples of computer mouse and car seat exterior surfaces.

A process model and method of idea generation for conceptual design

Conceptual design is the most creative stage in the product design process. This paper studies the idea generation process and the representation of design knowledge at the conceptual design stage and proposes an idea generation process model and a design unit model. Based on this and through analysing both conscious thought and the subconscious this paper proposes a mechanism of product idea generation, which has three types of cognition stimulation: extension stimulation, analogy stimulation, and mutation stimulation. Through exploring design methods and tools for implementing cognition stimulation, a conceptual design method is constructed, which focuses on carrying out the mechanism of idea generation. This method embodies in a systematic and effective manner the cognitive process and characteristics of the designer, incorporates product design knowledge, and assists the designer to generate a comprehensive conceptual design proposal. An example is presented to illustrate the principles of the proposed method. The process model and method proposed here should act as a basis for future research on computer-aided conceptual design.

Research on Computer-Aided Conceptual Design of Palletizing Robot

The method of computer-aided design oriented to requirement configuration is present for the palletizing robot. Index of design requirement is quantified hierarchically. The whole function of palletizing robot is decomposed according to the working plane. The various kinds of attributes of function carriers are digitized and the consistency is kept with the index of design requirement. Optimal design scheme can be gotten by the computation of evaluation function constructed in this paper. The software of computer-aided conceptual design for palletizing robot is developed.

A Knowledge-Based Prototype System to Support Product Conceptual Design

AbstractA key step in conceptual design is to develop specifications for the required behaviors or functions and transforms the specifications into the description of component configuration. In this paper, a design synthetic approach is proposed and employed to guide the design process via behavioral reasoning and to obtain an iterative transforming process. Firstly, the functional representations and design parameters according to the design requirements of a product are presented and a behavioral matrix model by using the bond graph fundamental elements is established. Secondly, a knowledge modeling language is presented for behavioral reasoning. A design synthesis approach is described in detail in such a way to transform the matrix model for generating functional means tree and to obtain multi-solutions by artificial intelligence. A prototype system is then developed for computer-aided conceptual design. Finally, a design synthesis case of a fast clasping mechanism used in a machine center is present...

One-Step QFD based 3D morphological charts for concept generation of product variant design

This paper proposes a novel methodology, QFD based 3D morphological charts, to support variant design of simple and technically mature products. Customer’s requirements are incorporated in developing the morphological charts through a holistic approach, One-Step QFD. In contrast to the traditional cascading deployment, members from marketing, design, and manufacturing teams concurrently derive the requirements from three different aspects. The charts driven by the deployment results produce design concepts of high feasibility through query by function, specification, and module of a product. They are presented in 3D assembly for better visual stimuli rather than clutter of 2D sketches. A computer-aided conceptual design system is implemented to realize the proposed ideas with computer mice as an example product. A design experiment is conducted to compare the quantity and quality of the concepts generated with and without the aid of the system. The results show that it promotes quick generation of innovative concepts while maintaining their manufacturability.

An approach to function identification in automated conceptual design of mechanism systems

It has been a challenge in computer-aided conceptual design of mechanism systems as how to describe the kinematic requirements and the functions of a mechanism so that computers can easily recognize, and eventually make automatic selections and combinations among many different types of mechanisms (those combinations include mechanisms of single and multi-degree-of-freedom, and connected in series, or paprallel, or overlap, or feedback). In this paper, a methodology is presented to describe the kinematic characteristics of mechanism systems and their associated requirements so that they can easily recognized by computers. A practical approach is to define “a kinematic function” to represent the kinematic characterizations of a mechanism. It reflects the input and output motion of a given system. This kinematic function can regularly and accurately be described using function units and trees (any function tree consists of more than one function units and is regularly expressed). Because of its uniqueness, the process of mechanism synthesis can be easily recognized by a computer. The methodology demonstrated in the paper has universality and has been successfully incorporated into a software, which has been proven to be an useful tool for the conceptual design of mechanism systems.

Genetic model for conceptual design of mechanical products based on functional surface

Computer-aided conceptual design (CACD) aims to increase efficiency and quality of design work but with little essential progress due to the gap between abstract concept and detailed structure. In order to tackle the problem concerned with conceptual design process and automation, this paper introduces the concept of functional surface as the information carrier to link together product function and structure and describes a product genetic model to represent and organize product information. Functional surface is used to formalize the product gene, a varied-length coding scheme for functional surface and product gene is proposed, and the design process model for conceptual design is established based on product gene. Finally, a prototype system for CACD is introduced to demonstrate how a product can be designed based on the proposed model.