KBE

Abstract—In order to reduce the pressures of reading drawings and dimensional analysis on engineering staffs, the use of CATIA to build 3D models by 2D drawings with the given information is suggested. Through the application of 3D modelling, the overall situation of the time consuming design can be avoided. The research focuses on the case of the ‗C ‘ Class boiler owned by renowned company. 3D model is constructed by using information of 2D drawings to calculate the design parameters of boilers concerned with the project. It managed to shorten the design time, reduce the construction difficulties and ensure that the requirements on equipment, human resource and materials are all satisfied.

No Processo de Desenvolvimento de Produto (PDP) a gestão do conhecimento é essencial para evitar retrabalhos futuros. Uma abordagem para gerir o conhecimento necessário ao desenvolvimento do produto é denominada Engenharia Baseada em Conhecimento (Knowledge-based Engineering-KBE). Soluções de KBE permitem automatizar ou personalizar uma atividade de projeto utilizando, por exemplo, um sistema especialista. Uma ferramenta com esta característica poderia apoiar equipes de projeto para aplicar o conceito de Projeto para Fabricação e Montagem (Design for Manufacturing and Assembly-DFMA), tradicionalmente dependente do conhecimento do projetista e da comunicação com outros departamentos ou fornecedores. Nessa perspectiva, o presente artigo propõe a construção de uma base de publicações relacionadas à aplicação de KBE no DFMA, com o objetivo de identificar as soluções encontradas pelos autores e constatar as tendências e oportunidades de pesquisa. Para tanto, foi aplicado o processo ProKnow-C (Knowledge Development Process – Constructivist) para seleção e análise dos artigos científicos em etapas, alcançando-se um portfólio bibliográfico composto de 22 artigos. As análises desses artigos respaldaram o produto final deste trabalho, com a identificação dos problemas de pesquisa, as soluções produzidas pelos estudos e as oportunidades de pesquisa proporcionadas, servindo de amparo para o desenvolvimento de um sistema especialista com tal finalidade.

The large amount of available design information from different areas has become common in most organizations. Under these conditions, there are difficulties in sharing and reusing knowledge, especially by the fact that this knowledge is available within the company in different formats and locations. Due to this, design engineers often fail to use such information. To ensure a better use, it is important to organize and integrate the available knowledge in a collaborative manner. In this context, the Knowledge-based Engineering (KBE) approach can be associated. Through KBE concepts, the current study aims to develop a set of tools for assisting decision making, by storing and providing useful information in a timely manner. Such solution should meet the needs of its users (i.e. designers), as well as improve the quality of design activities along the Product Development Process (PDP). For this study, still under development, the following steps have been adopted: (a) delimitation of action scope (i.e. steps of PDP to be focused); (b) knowledge capture; (c) knowledge structuring through ontologies; (d) standardization; (e) development of rules; (f) creation of application solutions; and (g) performance evaluation of solutions. The application of the present proposal is expected to facilitate the access to information, significantly reduce the number of Engineering Change Requests (ECR's), as well as allow acquired knowledge to be used in subsequent projects (e.g. lessons learned).

By being aware of and reusing knowledge in the form of expertise and engineering know-how throughout the whole organization large time-savings can be made. The knowledge allows for alternative studies where different configurations can be compared and balanced. A method called Knowledge Based
Engineering (KBE) can act as a valuable tool to help capturing this knowledge and guaranteeing quality of a product.

The work described in this thesis focuses on developing methods to support the generation of a weld simulation model used for a jet engine component. The geometry of the model is treated in a general manner that allows for substitution in the future. Subcomponents within the model can be individually treated or combined with other subcomponents to create a
complete system. An automated method for mesh generation is developed and implemented.

The methods not only result in shortening lead-times but also assures consistency and quality every time they are asked for. They can be reused and further expanded to support other types of configurations in the future.

To assess manufacturability and maintenance in early product development phases, data must be accessible for design activities. Methods and tools are required that can be re-used and allow quick design iterations – even if the design processes relies on heterogeneous data access. Consequently, design approaches based on automation of design tasks need to deal with both product- and method representation and handle heterogeneous information environments.
In this paper a modular approach for product modeling is proposed and demonstrates re-use of generic geometric objects and methods inside the company platform. A set of parameters, design elements and processes are identified and combined using object-oriented techniques in the shape of an automated design tool.
The suggested approach is illustrated by adopting the generic method to three different situations.