The Experts below are selected from a list of 312 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
G A Britton - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Knowledge-based Functional Design of industrial robots
International Journal of Production Research, 2008Co-Authors: Shu Beng Tor, G A Britton, S. S. G. Lee, W. Y. ZhangAbstract:This paper presents an expert Functional Design model and software modeling environment for Designing the architecture of industrial robots. The modeling environment comprises an integrated knowledge base, an inference engine, a working memory, and an explanation unit and is implemented in CLIPS. The Functional Design model is based on the authors’ behaviour-driven, function-environment-structure (B-FES) formalism, which has been tailored to meet the special requirements of industrial robot Design. A universal robot template has been created and a library of typical components of a robot has been compiled. Nine customized templates were generated from the universal template. Web links to the websites of manufacturers/suppliers provide easy access to data on robot components. The architectural Design solutions are assessed by a set of user-defined performance criteria, such as precision, flexibility and short cycle time. Application of the approach is demonstrated through a case study of the Functional des...
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a graph and matrix representation scheme for Functional Design of mechanical products
The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 2005Co-Authors: W. Y. Zhang, G A BrittonAbstract:This paper presents a graph and matrix representation scheme for the Functional Design of mechanical products, which provides a good basis to generate an explicit and comprehensive Functional model used for Functional reasoning. Three key features of the scheme are (1) The representation of the causal way behaviors are interconnected; (2) The representation of two types of Functional relations: decomposed into and supported by; and (3) Support for diverse Functional reasoning paths: three alternative B-FES/e paths are currently available. The scheme can guide Functional Design of mechanical products through Functional reasoning steps including Functional supportive synthesis, causal behavioral reasoning and Functional decomposition. The developed Functional model and its representation applied in a knowledge-based Design environment can speed up the Functional Design process by automating Functional reasoning steps. The proposed approach has been evaluated with a Functional Design example of a terminal cutoff unit in an automatic assembly system for manufacturing electronic connectors.
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FuncDesigner—a Functional Design software system
The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 2003Co-Authors: W. Y. Zhang, S. B. Tor, G A BrittonAbstract:Engineering Design focuses on the development of products and artefacts to satisfy the specified function. Although considerable advances have been made over the last two decades in Functional modelling, there is not very much progress on commercial Computer-Aided Design (CAD) systems that really aid the Designer in converting Functional specifications to concept variants. Based on our previous work on Behaviour-driven Function-Environment-Structure (B-FES) modelling framework, this paper presents a Functional Design software system, called "FuncDesigner", to support the Functional Design of mechanical products through Functional reasoning steps, including causal behavioural reasoning and Functional decomposition. A function object library and a behaviour object library have been developed as well to serve as the knowledge base for the computerised Functional modelling environment. The proposed Functional Design software system has been evaluated with a Design example of a terminal insertion unit in an automatic assembly system for manufacturing electronic connectors.
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A Two-Level Modelling Approach to Acquire Functional Design Knowledge in Mechanical Engineering Systems
The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 2002Co-Authors: W. Y. Zhang, Shu Beng Tor, G A BrittonAbstract:Modelling as a means of knowledge acquisition has been proposed by some workers in artificial intelligence. In this paper the authors describe an approach using two-level knowledge modelling that employs the concepts of a Functional model (extended FEBS model) and an object model to capture domain-specific Functional Design knowledge. The Functional model serves as a basis for communication between domain experts and a knowledge engineer. The object model is used to bridge the gap between the Functional model and an executable knowledge base. The approach is viewed as an important method for building a function-laden knowledge base that is useful for developing a knowledge-based Functional Design expert system. The proposed knowledge acquisition method is applied to an automatic assembly system for manufacturing electronic connectors to illustrate the general idea.
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Automated Functional Design of engineering systems
Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, 2002Co-Authors: W. Y. Zhang, S. B. Tor, G A BrittonAbstract:This paper presents a prototype intelligent system, the knowledge-based Functional Design automation system (KBFDA) for automating the Functional Design process of engineering products/systems. An integrated knowledge representation scheme combines rule-based and object-oriented representation methods to represent functions and function related Design characteristics in an intelligent Design environment. A knowledge-based Functional reasoning strategy uses this representation to automatically generate physical behaviors from desired functions or behaviors. The required behaviors are then combined in different configurations to develop a set of potential concept variants that meet the Functional requirements and Functional constraints given in a Design specification. Finally, the variants are ranked according to the degree to which they meet non-Functional constraints. The variant with the lowest rank (score) is selected as the best solution. A case study Design of a terminal insertion unit is presented to demonstrate the practicality of the proposed approach.
Y.-m. Deng - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Functional Design of mechanical products based on behavior-driven function-environment-structure modeling framework
2002Co-Authors: Wenyu Zhang, G A Britton, Shu Beng Tor, Y.-m. DengAbstract:The relative significance of upstream Design activity to downstream Design activity is widely recognized, due to its critical role in determining the final product’s Functionality. Although there are now some general methodologies dealing with functions or reasoning about functions, virtually no commercial CAD system can support Functional Design. In Functional modeling, a Design problem is represented in a hierarchy of functions and the behaviors that realize the functions. This paper presents a Functional Design methodology based on a behavior-driven function-environment-structure (B-FES) modeling framework to guide Functional Design through Functional reasoning steps including causal behavioral reasoning (CBR) and Functional decomposition. The proposed Functional Design starts from a set of Design specifications including Functional requirements and Design constraints, and results in diverse behavioral schema corresponding to a set of Design alternatives. A Design example for Functional Design of a terminal cut-off unit in an automatic assembly system is used to provide a demonstration of the proposed Functional Design methodology.
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efdex a knowledge based expert system for Functional Design of engineering systems
Engineering With Computers, 2001Co-Authors: Wenyu Zhang, G A Britton, Shu Beng Tor, Y.-m. DengAbstract:This paper presents a knowledge-based system, ‘EFDEX’, the Engineering Functional Design Expert, which was developed using an expert system shell, CLIPS 6.1, to perform intelligent Functional Design of engineering systems. On the basis of a flexible, causal and hierarchical Functional modeling framework, we propose a knowledge-based Functional reasoning methodology. By using this intelligent Functional reasoning strategy, physical behavior can be reasoned out from a desired function or desired behavior, and inter-connection of these behaviors is possible when there is compatibility between the Functional output of one and the corresponding Functional requirement (e.g. driving input) of the next one. In addition, a complicated, desired function which cannot be matched with the Functional output of any behavior after searching the object-oriented behavior base, will be automatically decomposed into less complex sub-functions by means of relevant function decomposition rules. An intelligent system for the Functional Design of an automatic assembly system provides an application of this intelligent Design environment, and a demonstration of its methodology. In this paper, a knowledge-based Functional representation scheme which integrates two popular AI representation techniques (object-oriented representation and rule-based representation) is also proposed as a prelude to a knowledge-based Functional Design system
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Modelling Functional Design information for injection mould Design
International Journal of Production Research, 2001Co-Authors: G A Britton, S. B. Tor, Yee Cheong Lam, Y.-m. DengAbstract:Injection mould Design is a complex process incorporating various aspects of Design information and a variety of Design activities. Specific requirements such as undercut mould Design add difficulties to the problem because they often require innovation, which involves the conceptual stage of Design problem solving. Modelling injection mould Design from a Functional perspective enables a higher level of Design abstraction, thus facilitating a wider range of conceptual variants selection. In this paper, the authors discuss the essential aspects of Functional Design information in injection mould Design and how they can be modelled. Functional Design knowledge supporting the modelling process is also discussed and formalized, and a number of knowledge libraries are implemented. A side core mechanism Design is used as an example to illustrate the proposed method and its usefulness.
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Constraint-based Functional Design verification for conceptual Design
Computer-aided Design, 2000Co-Authors: Y.-m. Deng, G A BrittonAbstract:In the early stages of mechanical product Design, Designers not only need to determine the physical structure of the Design, but also need to verify that the Design functions properly with the allowable values or ranges of values of the relevant Design attributes. Existing work on Design verification is either aimed at specific Design problems, which are generally carried out at the downstream Design stages, or aimed at deriving Design behavior using a behavioral simulation approach. Functional Design verification has largely been neglected by the research society. To tackle this problem, we propose a generic constraint-based approach that is based on a comprehensive Functional Design model. A number of strategies are proposed for the approach, including strategies for Design variables reduction, variable dependency graph development, constraint propagation, and dynamic verification of a Design over an assigned set of attributes (variables). The approach is implemented as part of a Functional modeling Design environment. A simple Design verification case is presented to illustrate our approach.
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Abstracting and Exploring Functional Design Information for Conceptual Mechanical Product Design
Engineering With Computers, 2000Co-Authors: Y.-m. Deng, G A BrittonAbstract:The conceptual stage of mechanical product Design has been recognised as the most critical product development stage. This is an area which is not addressed by current CAD systems. In this paper, we present our work on the abstraction and exploration of Functional Design information to support this Design area. We consider the exploration of relevant Functional Design information as an important aspect of Design work during this Design process. Four aspects of Functional Design information are abstracted, including function, behaviour, structure and working environment. The working environment information is demonstrated as being useful to the exploration of Functional Design solutions. The physical behaviour is represented by an input-output flow-of-action, contrary to the commonly-used input-output flow-of-object approach (where object refers to material, energy or signal). Not only is this approach more generic, more importantly, we argue that the input-output flow-of-object is only a physical-level Design abstraction, while flow-of-action is a Functional-level Design abstraction, hence it can capture Design intention. Based on this strategy, we explore Functional Design information by considering the relevant action flows between the Design and its working environment, as well as between the different components of the Design, including their attributes, attribute expressions, constraints, and so on. Prototype software has been developed to implement the proposed approaches. A simple Design example is used to illustrate the various aspects of Functional Design information and their exploration process.
W. Y. Zhang - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Knowledge-based Functional Design of industrial robots
International Journal of Production Research, 2008Co-Authors: Shu Beng Tor, G A Britton, S. S. G. Lee, W. Y. ZhangAbstract:This paper presents an expert Functional Design model and software modeling environment for Designing the architecture of industrial robots. The modeling environment comprises an integrated knowledge base, an inference engine, a working memory, and an explanation unit and is implemented in CLIPS. The Functional Design model is based on the authors’ behaviour-driven, function-environment-structure (B-FES) formalism, which has been tailored to meet the special requirements of industrial robot Design. A universal robot template has been created and a library of typical components of a robot has been compiled. Nine customized templates were generated from the universal template. Web links to the websites of manufacturers/suppliers provide easy access to data on robot components. The architectural Design solutions are assessed by a set of user-defined performance criteria, such as precision, flexibility and short cycle time. Application of the approach is demonstrated through a case study of the Functional des...
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a graph and matrix representation scheme for Functional Design of mechanical products
The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 2005Co-Authors: W. Y. Zhang, G A BrittonAbstract:This paper presents a graph and matrix representation scheme for the Functional Design of mechanical products, which provides a good basis to generate an explicit and comprehensive Functional model used for Functional reasoning. Three key features of the scheme are (1) The representation of the causal way behaviors are interconnected; (2) The representation of two types of Functional relations: decomposed into and supported by; and (3) Support for diverse Functional reasoning paths: three alternative B-FES/e paths are currently available. The scheme can guide Functional Design of mechanical products through Functional reasoning steps including Functional supportive synthesis, causal behavioral reasoning and Functional decomposition. The developed Functional model and its representation applied in a knowledge-based Design environment can speed up the Functional Design process by automating Functional reasoning steps. The proposed approach has been evaluated with a Functional Design example of a terminal cutoff unit in an automatic assembly system for manufacturing electronic connectors.
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FuncDesigner—a Functional Design software system
The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 2003Co-Authors: W. Y. Zhang, S. B. Tor, G A BrittonAbstract:Engineering Design focuses on the development of products and artefacts to satisfy the specified function. Although considerable advances have been made over the last two decades in Functional modelling, there is not very much progress on commercial Computer-Aided Design (CAD) systems that really aid the Designer in converting Functional specifications to concept variants. Based on our previous work on Behaviour-driven Function-Environment-Structure (B-FES) modelling framework, this paper presents a Functional Design software system, called "FuncDesigner", to support the Functional Design of mechanical products through Functional reasoning steps, including causal behavioural reasoning and Functional decomposition. A function object library and a behaviour object library have been developed as well to serve as the knowledge base for the computerised Functional modelling environment. The proposed Functional Design software system has been evaluated with a Design example of a terminal insertion unit in an automatic assembly system for manufacturing electronic connectors.
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A Two-Level Modelling Approach to Acquire Functional Design Knowledge in Mechanical Engineering Systems
The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 2002Co-Authors: W. Y. Zhang, Shu Beng Tor, G A BrittonAbstract:Modelling as a means of knowledge acquisition has been proposed by some workers in artificial intelligence. In this paper the authors describe an approach using two-level knowledge modelling that employs the concepts of a Functional model (extended FEBS model) and an object model to capture domain-specific Functional Design knowledge. The Functional model serves as a basis for communication between domain experts and a knowledge engineer. The object model is used to bridge the gap between the Functional model and an executable knowledge base. The approach is viewed as an important method for building a function-laden knowledge base that is useful for developing a knowledge-based Functional Design expert system. The proposed knowledge acquisition method is applied to an automatic assembly system for manufacturing electronic connectors to illustrate the general idea.
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Automated Functional Design of engineering systems
Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, 2002Co-Authors: W. Y. Zhang, S. B. Tor, G A BrittonAbstract:This paper presents a prototype intelligent system, the knowledge-based Functional Design automation system (KBFDA) for automating the Functional Design process of engineering products/systems. An integrated knowledge representation scheme combines rule-based and object-oriented representation methods to represent functions and function related Design characteristics in an intelligent Design environment. A knowledge-based Functional reasoning strategy uses this representation to automatically generate physical behaviors from desired functions or behaviors. The required behaviors are then combined in different configurations to develop a set of potential concept variants that meet the Functional requirements and Functional constraints given in a Design specification. Finally, the variants are ranked according to the degree to which they meet non-Functional constraints. The variant with the lowest rank (score) is selected as the best solution. A case study Design of a terminal insertion unit is presented to demonstrate the practicality of the proposed approach.
Shu Beng Tor - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Knowledge-based Functional Design of industrial robots
International Journal of Production Research, 2008Co-Authors: Shu Beng Tor, G A Britton, S. S. G. Lee, W. Y. ZhangAbstract:This paper presents an expert Functional Design model and software modeling environment for Designing the architecture of industrial robots. The modeling environment comprises an integrated knowledge base, an inference engine, a working memory, and an explanation unit and is implemented in CLIPS. The Functional Design model is based on the authors’ behaviour-driven, function-environment-structure (B-FES) formalism, which has been tailored to meet the special requirements of industrial robot Design. A universal robot template has been created and a library of typical components of a robot has been compiled. Nine customized templates were generated from the universal template. Web links to the websites of manufacturers/suppliers provide easy access to data on robot components. The architectural Design solutions are assessed by a set of user-defined performance criteria, such as precision, flexibility and short cycle time. Application of the approach is demonstrated through a case study of the Functional des...
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A Two-Level Modelling Approach to Acquire Functional Design Knowledge in Mechanical Engineering Systems
The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 2002Co-Authors: W. Y. Zhang, Shu Beng Tor, G A BrittonAbstract:Modelling as a means of knowledge acquisition has been proposed by some workers in artificial intelligence. In this paper the authors describe an approach using two-level knowledge modelling that employs the concepts of a Functional model (extended FEBS model) and an object model to capture domain-specific Functional Design knowledge. The Functional model serves as a basis for communication between domain experts and a knowledge engineer. The object model is used to bridge the gap between the Functional model and an executable knowledge base. The approach is viewed as an important method for building a function-laden knowledge base that is useful for developing a knowledge-based Functional Design expert system. The proposed knowledge acquisition method is applied to an automatic assembly system for manufacturing electronic connectors to illustrate the general idea.
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A Heuristic State–Space Approach to the Functional Design of Mechanical Systems
The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 2002Co-Authors: W. Y. Zhang, Shu Beng Tor, G A BrittonAbstract:This paper presents a knowledge-based approach for automating the Functional Design of mechanical systems. By using our proposed automated Functional reasoning strategy, which is based on a heuristic search method, a set of physical behaviours can be reasoned out automatically from the desired functions. The interconnection of these behaviours is possible when the Functional outputs of one are compatible to the corresponding Functional requirements of the next one. Though the Design space for behavioural configuration is very large, by defining its heuristic evaluation function as a fuzzy multicriteria decision-making (FMCDM) problem, the proposed heuristic search method can lead to a near optimum Design solution in a reasonable time. A case study for the automated Functional Design of an automatic assembly system is given to illustrate the operation of the proposed heuristic search method, and to show its effectiveness in Functional reasoning and optimising the final Design.
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Functional Design of mechanical products based on behavior-driven function-environment-structure modeling framework
2002Co-Authors: Wenyu Zhang, G A Britton, Shu Beng Tor, Y.-m. DengAbstract:The relative significance of upstream Design activity to downstream Design activity is widely recognized, due to its critical role in determining the final product’s Functionality. Although there are now some general methodologies dealing with functions or reasoning about functions, virtually no commercial CAD system can support Functional Design. In Functional modeling, a Design problem is represented in a hierarchy of functions and the behaviors that realize the functions. This paper presents a Functional Design methodology based on a behavior-driven function-environment-structure (B-FES) modeling framework to guide Functional Design through Functional reasoning steps including causal behavioral reasoning (CBR) and Functional decomposition. The proposed Functional Design starts from a set of Design specifications including Functional requirements and Design constraints, and results in diverse behavioral schema corresponding to a set of Design alternatives. A Design example for Functional Design of a terminal cut-off unit in an automatic assembly system is used to provide a demonstration of the proposed Functional Design methodology.
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efdex a knowledge based expert system for Functional Design of engineering systems
Engineering With Computers, 2001Co-Authors: Wenyu Zhang, G A Britton, Shu Beng Tor, Y.-m. DengAbstract:This paper presents a knowledge-based system, ‘EFDEX’, the Engineering Functional Design Expert, which was developed using an expert system shell, CLIPS 6.1, to perform intelligent Functional Design of engineering systems. On the basis of a flexible, causal and hierarchical Functional modeling framework, we propose a knowledge-based Functional reasoning methodology. By using this intelligent Functional reasoning strategy, physical behavior can be reasoned out from a desired function or desired behavior, and inter-connection of these behaviors is possible when there is compatibility between the Functional output of one and the corresponding Functional requirement (e.g. driving input) of the next one. In addition, a complicated, desired function which cannot be matched with the Functional output of any behavior after searching the object-oriented behavior base, will be automatically decomposed into less complex sub-functions by means of relevant function decomposition rules. An intelligent system for the Functional Design of an automatic assembly system provides an application of this intelligent Design environment, and a demonstration of its methodology. In this paper, a knowledge-based Functional representation scheme which integrates two popular AI representation techniques (object-oriented representation and rule-based representation) is also proposed as a prelude to a knowledge-based Functional Design system
Gordon J. Savage - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Probability Constrained Optimization as a Tool for Functional Design for Six Sigma
Quality Engineering, 2007Co-Authors: Gordon J. SavageAbstract:[This abstract is based on the author’s abstract.]In the overall Design of a system, an important factor is the Functional Design in which the means and tolerances of the Design variables are determined with respect to the demands of quality versus thos..
