Design Automation Case Study : Modular Locating Fixture

Design automation systems often mimic human designers and implement routine design activities. Beside this, the idea of such knowledge-based engineering is to support developers in the analysis and syntheses of complex engineering artifacts. An instance of this is product configuration. A central aspect of knowledge-based engineering is its ability to draw conclusions about the design context. For this inference, different reasoning techniques have been proposed. One uses constraint satisfaction problems as model-based approach. In the present contribution, the authors report about a case-study about the implementation of a constraint-based configuration system with onboard resources of a computer aided design system on the example of a locating fixture

Complexity of Configurators Relative to Integrations and Field of Application

Configurators are applied widely to automate the specification processes at companies. The literature describes industrial application of configurators supporting both sales and engineering processes, where configurators supporting the engineering processes are described more challenging. Moreover, configurators are commonly integrated to various IT systems within companies. Complexity of configurators is an important factor when it comes to performance, development and maintenance of the systems. Yet, a direct comparison of the complexity based on the different application and IT integrations is not addressed to great extent in the literature. Thus, this paper analyses the relationship of complexity of the configurators, which is based on parameters (rules and attributes), in terms of first different applications of configurators (sales and engineering), and second integrations to other IT systems. The research method adopted in the paper is based on a survey followed with interviews where the unit of analysis is based on operating configurators within a company

Interactive Geometric Configuration Using Sketch-Based CAD Models

Knowledge-based geometry models reduce variant design to the input of parameter values. Especially knowledge-based CAD models that incorporate geometrical data and implemented explicit knowledge offer additional possibilities. One is interactive drag-and-drop control of geometric features. This poses new requirements for the setup of CAD models as each geometric constraint, dimension and 3D feature contributes to the variability of the model. In this paper, the authors give methodological guidance to such modeling tasks by extending the CommonKADS approach with a correlation model for CAD model entities. The guidelines are visualized for the creation of an interactive, configurable steel construction model

Application of Decentralized and Self-Regulating Knowledge Bases for Assembly Design Automation

During product development, changes to parts that are already built into assemblies usually lead to the need to check the function and consistency of the assembly. This procedure is very time-consuming and has to be performed again for each change. In this paper, an approach is presented in which the individual parts are represented as agents that adapt themselves to new conditions. The agents are combined in a multi-agent system (MAS) and interact via communication over messages. For this purpose, a methodical procedure for the development of the MAS and the implementation in a CAD development environment is presented. The validation of the MAS is carried out on the application example of a gearbox

Product Configuration with Bayesian Network

For the satisfaction of individual customer requirements, products with many options are offered in mass customization. However, in the area of ecommerce, the large number of possible product configurations can overwhelm the customer, as he or she is not supported by a human sales expert. To minimize the customer’s overload, this paper examines the combination of a knowledge-based product configurator with an upstream probabilistic recommender system to provide a quick, individual and dynamic initial orientation for the customer. The application of the approach is demonstrated using an example from engineering design

Relazioni operative con i clienti ed i fornitori e prestazioni operative

Nel lavoro si affronta il tema del legame esistente tra le prestazioni operative e le relazioni che l'impresa instaura a monte e a valle. Viene proposto un modello di riferimento per lo studio dell'influenza che le nuove modalit\ue0 di interazione con i clienti ed i fornitori hanno sulle prestazioni operative aziendali. Tale modello, basato sulle categorie di riferimento dell'Operations Management, considera congiuntamente sia le interazioni con i fornitori che quelle con i clienti. Vengono fornite alcune risposte preliminari ai quesiti di ricerca ricorrendo all'indagine empirica su 34 aziende. I risultati ottenuti mettono in luce che i legami a monte e a valle sono strettamente legati alle prestazioni operative dell'azienda: la realizzazione di sistemi produttivi eccellenti, dal punto di vista delle prestazioni, sembra essere accompagnata dalla instaurazione di rapporti innovativi sia con gli attori a monte che con quelli a valle

Surveys

When to use survey research. The survey research process. What is needed prior to survey research design: (i) the theoretical model, (ii) de\ufb01ning the unit of analysis, (iii) developing and testing the operational de\ufb01nitions, and (iv) stating the hypotheses. Designing a survey: (i) considering constraints and information needs, (ii) planning the activities, (iii) designing the sample, (iv) choosing the data collection method, (v) developing the measurement instrument, and (vi) de\ufb01ning how to approach companies and respondents. Pilot testing the questionnaire: (i) handling non-respondent and non-response bias, (ii) inputting and cleaning data, and (iii) assessing the measurement validity and reliability. Survey execution. Data analysis and interpretation of results. What information should be reported in articles