Architecture for the Integration of High Performance Computing Applications in PLM

High Performance Computing (HPC) has become ubiquitous for simulations in the industrial context. To identify the requirements for integration of HPC-relevant data and processes a survey has been conducted concerning the German car manufacturers and service and component suppliers. This contribution presents the results of the evaluation and suggests an architecture concept to integrate data and workflows related with CAE and HPC-facilities in PLM. It describes the state of the art of HPC-applications within the simulation domain. Intensive efforts are currently invested on CAE-data management. However, an approach to systematic data management of HPC does not exist. This study states importance of an integrating approach for data management of HPC-applications and develops an architectural framework to implement HPC-data management into the existing PLM landscape. Requirements on key functionalities and interfaces are defined as well as a framework for a reference information model is conceptualized.

The Effect of Form on Attributing Meanings to Materials

Materials in product design used to be selected based especially on manufacturability concerns and technical aspects such as strength, conductivity, elasticity, etc. Nowadays, the increasing recognition for more intangible issues like meaning attribution or creating emotions in product design made designers shift their focus towards the intangible aspects in their materials selection activity as well. In this research, we aim to concentrate particularly on attributing meanings to materials. It is crucial to realize that several aspects (function, use, context, user, etc.) can be effective in attributing meanings to materials and they should be taken into consideration during the selection process. In this paper, we focus intensively on one of these aspects: the effect of form on attributing meanings to materials. The paper consists of four related studies exploring how people associate some forms with some particular materials and weather form can be effective in changing these ascribed meanings, or not.

A New Approach to Interactive Grasping Simulation of Product Concepts in a Virtual Reality Environment

Customer evaluation of concepts plays an important role in the design of handheld devices, such as bottles of douche gels and shampoos, where the phenomenon of grasping needs to be evaluated. In these applications important information on the aspects of ergonomics and user behaviors could be gathered from computer simulation. It is our ultimate goal to develop an environment in which users and designers can freely interact with product concepts. In our approach to grasping simulation there is no tactile feedback and we do not measure the exerted grasping forces. There is no wiring of the human hand, and the users are not limited in their movements. We measure the motion of the human hand, compute the grasping forces based on anthropometric data, and simulate the reaction of product concepts in a physically based virtual reality environment. Our contribution consists of: (i) a method, which takes into account the anatomy of the human hand in order to determine the maximum grasping forces, and (ii) an approach which enables to control the grasping forces based on (a) the penetration of the virtual human hand into the virtual model of product concept (b) the posture of the grasping, and (c) the angles of the joints. The paper reports on the framework of our approach and presents an application.

Decision Retrieval and Storage Enabled Through Description Logic

The problem addressed in the paper is how to represent the knowledge associated with design decision models to enable storage, retrieval, and reuse. The paper concerns the representations and reasoning mechanisms needed to construct decision models of relevance to engineered product development. Specifically, AL[E][N] description logic is proposed as a formalism for modeling engineering knowledge and for enabling retrieval and reuse of archived models. Classification hierarchies are constructed using subsumption in DL. Retrieval of archived models is supported using subsumption and query concepts. In our methodology, design decision models are constructed using the base vocabulary and reuse is supported through reasoning and retrieval capabilities. Application of the knowledge representation for the design of a cantilever beam is demonstrated.

A Dynamic 3D Geometry Compression Scheme Based on the Lifted Wavelet Transform

In distributed environments, efficient visual information sharing is critical for effective communication in real-time engineering collaboration. Methods of geometry compression are needed for high-volume geometry data distribution over networks with limited bandwidths and heterogeneous storage capacities. In this paper, a new compression scheme for time-varying 3D geometry is introduced to support engineering and scientific visualization while showing potential for the audiovisual presentation and entertainment fields. This hybrid approach allows geometric and topological information to be uniformly encoded as volume grid values then compressed based on the lifted wavelet transform. The compression ratio is significantly increased without compromising surface quality due to rescaling and integer-to-integer lifting. This approach also allows for scalability in terms of additional data streams such as color, audio, and other types of concurrent data necessary for the desired customization of this method.

Simultaneous Hierarchical and Multi-Level Optimization for Material Characterization and Design of Experiments

A hierarchical algorithmic and computational scheme based on a staggered design optimization approach is presented. This scheme is structured for unique characterization of many continuum systems and their associated datasets of experimental measurements related to their response characteristics. This methodology achieves both online (real-time) and offline design of optimum experiments required for characterization of the material system under consideration, while also achieving a constitutive characterization of the system. The approach assumes that mechatronic systems are available for exposing specimens to multidimensional loading paths and for the acquisition of data associated with stimulus and response behavior. Material characterization is achieved by minimizing the difference between system responses that are measured experimentally and predicted based on model representation. The performance metrics of the material characterization process are used to construct objective functions for the design of experiments at a higher-level optimization. The distinguishability and uniqueness of solutions that characterize the system are used as two of many possible measures adopted for construction of objective functions required for design of experiments. Finally, a demonstration of the methodology is presented that considers the best loading path of a two degree-of-freedom loading machine for characterization of the linear elastic constitutive response of anisotropic materials.

Knowledge Based Design of 3D Electronic Circuit Carriers

Miniaturization, high reliability and low manufacturing costs require close spatial integration of mechanics and electronics. New production technologies such as MID (Molded Interconnect Device), which enables to manufacture three-dimensional circuit carriers and replace conventional PCBs, open up interesting perspectives in this context. These production technologies cause strong interdependencies between product design and manufacturing; they usually determine the product concept. These interdependencies are often not known to the designers. The design of systems with technologies like MID thus needs a design-supporting knowledge base to overcome this lack of information. This paper describes a knowledge base for the design of three-dimensional electronic circuit carriers in MID. The knowledge base provides the developer with adapted procedural models for the specific design task, which show the mentioned interdependencies, as well as appropriate guidelines and standards during the different design phases. Thus the necessary information is available to the designer at all times. The application of the knowledge base is shown by the example of the housing of an autonomous miniature robot. The miniature robot is manufactured in large numbers. It serves as a test bed for swarm intelligence and multi-agents applications in computer science as well as for the employment of the Technology MID.

Using Spreadsheet Modules to Augment the Design of Adhesive Lap Joints

This paper presents two easy-to-use spreadsheet modules in Microsoft Excel to assist with the design of adhesive joints. The modules make use of embedded Visual Basic numerical algorithms to give assistance with the selection of both the adhesive type and the geometric configuration of an adhesive lap joint. These modules facilitate the quick implementation of designs that are more accurate than was previously possible by traditional design methods. The method will be particularly helpful to students and inexperienced designers who first encounter the need to design adhesive joints. The paper also includes an example application to illustrate the use of the modules.

Diagonal Dominance and the Decoupling Approximation in Damped Discrete Linear Systems

The principal coordinates of a non-classically damped linear system are coupled by nonzero off-diagonal element of the modal damping matrix. In the analysis of non-classically damped systems, a common approximation is to ignore the off-diagonal elements of the modal damping matrix. This procedure is termed the decoupling approximation. It is widely accepted that if the modal damping matrix is diagonally dominant, then errors due to the decoupling approximation must be small. In addition, it is intuitively believed that the more diagonal the modal damping matrix, the less will be the errors in the decoupling approximation. Two quantitative measures are proposed in this paper to measure the degree of being diagonal dominant in modal damping matrices. It is demonstrated that, over a finite range, errors in the decoupling approximation can continuously increase while the modal damping matrix becomes more and more diagonal with its off-diagonal elements decreasing in magnitude continuously. An explanation for this unexpected behavior is presented. Within a practical range of engineering applications, diagonal dominance of the modal damping matrix may not be sufficient for neglecting modal coupling in a damped system.

Emotional Shape Generation System With Exchange of Others’ Viewpoints for Externalizing Customers’ Latent Sensitivity

The aesthetics of a product’s shape has become an important factor to increase the value of mature products. However, such emotional quality regarding the customer’s need is difficult to capture due to its subjectivity. To address this issue, we have previously proposed shape generation methods that help the customers to externalize their image of product aesthetics into a shape. The previous methods enable one to generate design samples that fit the customer’s conscious image of a product shape based on his/her fixed sensitivity. However, customers also have latent sensitivities of which they are not aware. In this paper, we propose a shape generation system that enables the user to exchange design solutions and viewpoints with others. The aim of sharing solutions is to evoke the latent sensitivities by showing the unexpected viewpoints of others. To generate design samples, we improve the previous system in which the users generate design samples based on favored features to which they pay attention. We conduct a shape generation experiment using the proposed system to verify the effectiveness of exchanging solutions and viewpoints with others. We compared the effectiveness of self-solutions, which are generated without the exchange, with co-solutions, which are generated with the exchange. The result suggests that the co-solutions are more likely to be effective as to their preference and unpredictable quality. We observed certain effective patterns in the design process: All co-solutions generated by referring to unpredicted topological shapes produced effective results. Using such shapes, the subjects are able to discover new viewpoints for the target design concept. The stated metaphorical viewpoints of others also help to introduce such new viewpoints.