The encoding of Knowledge Based Engineering (KBE) software applications is
becoming a prominent tool for the automation of knowledge intensive tasks carried out
using Computer Aided Design (CAD) technology. However, limitations exist on the
ability to manage the engineering knowledge models embedded in these executable
KBE applications. This research proposes a metamodel to annotate encoded KBE
applications. Resulting from the annotation, XKMs become explicit knowledge
resources whose content can be better accessed and managed.
The attachment of metadata to data sets in enterprise repositories is a necessary step
to identify and index them so they can be queried, browsed and changed. The
sophistication of metadata models for these data “items” ranges from the simple
indexing using numbers to more sophisticated representations describing their context
information (i.e. author, creation date, etc.), their internal structure and their content.
Current engineering data repositories like Product Data Management and Product
Lifecycle Management systems offer predefined metamodels to annotate a range of
engineering data items including CAD files or special types of documents. At the
moment, there is no metadata model specifically designed to annotate KBE codes. In
this situation, an undifferentiated metadata model needs to be used for XKMs.
However, in this case the only information retained by the system about them would
be context metadata.
Once an instance of the metadata is attached to an XKM, it can be used as its identifier
within an enterprise data repository. The proposed metamodel contains abstract
entities to annotate XKMs.
The resulting descriptive model for an XKM pays attention to its internal structure and
its operation at different levels of granularity. The particular design of the proposed
metamodel positions it at a level of abstraction between non executable domain
knowledge models and executable KBE applications. This design choice is made to
support the use of the metadata not only as an informative model but also as an
executable one. The achievement of this target is becoming possible through the
emergence of semantic modelling standards that allow the description of data models
independently from the language of implementation. Using this approach, the
generation of code and metadata is made automatically using mapping rules resulting
from the semantic agreement between models and specific syntax rules.
The immediate application of the developed metamodel is to annotate XKMs within
PLM systems. The approach shall contribute not only to systematically store instances
of XKMs but also to manage the lifecycle of the engineering knowledge encoded within
them. The proposed representation provides a more comprehensive approach for non
KBE language experts to understand the code. On this basis, the change on the
metamodels can be automatically traced back to the code and vice-versa. During the
research, evidence has been gathered from the community of KBE technology users
and vendors on the need to support this research effort. In the long term, the research
contributes to the use of PLM systems as a platform for engineering knowledge
management
Is data on this page outdated, violates copyrights or anything else? Report the problem now and we will take corresponding actions after reviewing your request.