A Design System for Parametric Design of Complex Products

In this report a design system for parametric design of complex products is presented. The system is based on product models for complex products and components. These models were implemented as general framework models using the data base management system TORNADO. The user creates models for specific products by filling out forms. Consequently, all products can be represented in a uniform way. This gives the advantage that all service software (for storage in the product data base, retrieval of component data etc.) associated to a certain product model can be shared. The only lines of code the designer writes when creating a new component family are the design rules of the component. In association with the models a design system for complex products is presented. Benefitting from the uniform representations of the products, the system lets the user control the design process, while a system kernel handles the constraint management. The product models and the design system have been applied to hydraulic cylinder design.