A Product Information Modeling Framework for PLM

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A Product Information Modeling Framework for PLM

• S. Fenves, R. D. Sriram,
• R. Sudarsan and F. Wong
• NIST, USA

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Outline

• Product Engineering Program
• Integration Framework
• Core Product Model
• Design-Analysis Integration Model
• Open Assembly Model
• Product Family Evolution Model
• Summary

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Product Engineering Program in Design Process
Group

• Objective
• establish a semantically-based standard product
  representation scheme supporting seamless
  interoperability among CAD systems and others
• Anticipated environment
• Initially from design to analysis to
  manufacturing (design-in-the-small, PDM)
• Currently from conceptualization to disposal
  (design-in-the-large, PLM)

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Context external

• PLM is a strategic business approach for the
  effective management and use of corporate
  intellectual capital Various Sources

Discover
Prototype
Design
Manufacture
Market
Maintain
CADPDMDMU
PLM
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Context internal
Manufacturing System Integration Division roadmap
Self-integrating systems
Self-describing systems
Explicit, formal semantics
Common models of data
We are still laboring on first 1 ½ steps
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Progression of activities
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Interoperability Framework for PLM

• Objectives
• serve as generic depository of all product
  information at all stages
• deliver all product description information to
  PLM and subsidiary systems using a single,
  uniform information exchange protocol
• support direct interoperability among CAD, CAE,
  CAM and other interrelated systems

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Interoperability Framework

• Attributes
• based on formal semantics (later ontology)
• generic deals with concept of artifacts
• specific instances can be generated (e. g.,
  motors, pumps or gears)
• repository of variety of information about
  products
• intended to foster novel applications and
  processes
• incorporates explicit representation of design
  rationale
• convertible into production-level framework

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Framework Components
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Core Product Model

• Objective base-level product model that is
• generic
• extensible
• independent of any one product development
  process
• capable of capturing full engineering context
• Key feature explicit representation of
• Function Form - Behavior
• (in contrast to STEP AP 209 that essentially
  represents only form )

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Knowledge Representation
A product is represented by a hierarchy of
entities of the class Artifact, which is an
aggregation of Function, Form and Behavior.
Function represents what the artifact is supposed
to do Form represents the proposed design
solution for the design problem specified by the
Function and Behavior represents the evaluation
of how the artifact implements its function.
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Core Product Model Objects
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Core Product Model Relationships
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Design-analysis Integration Model

• Objectives
• support tighter design-analysis integration than
  is possible today
• support broad range of discipline-specific
  functional analyses
• make analysis-driven design (form-to-function
  reasoning) more practical
• eventually support opportunistic analysis
• Key feature two models and two one-way
  associations

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Design-analysis Integration Model
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Design-Analysis Integration Model

• Organizing principles considered
• net shape, as in AP 209 (eliminates
  function-based reasoning)
• design/analysis features (not mature)
• the Core Model
• Potential implementation mechanism
• Master Model is virtual
• a metamodel defines executable idealization and
  mapping transformations

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Open Assembly Model

• Objectives
• provide a standard representation and exchange
  protocol for assembly and system-level tolerance
  information
• be extensible
• Key features
• emphasizes the nature and information
  requirements for part features and assembly
  relationships
• includes both assembly as a concept and assembly
  as a data structure

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Open Assembly Model
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Open Assembly Model Tolerance
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Planetary Gear Example
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Assembly Hierarchy
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Assembly Associations
fc fixed connection mc movable connection
po position and orientation
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Product Family Evolution Model

• Objectives
• represent the evolution of product families and
  of the rationale for the changes
• Key features
• keeps track of product component series
  versions configuration relationship ties them
  together
• keeps track of what, how and why of all changes
  between versions/series

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Product Family Evolution Model Family
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Product Family Evolution Model Evolution
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Product Family Evolution Model Rationale
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Summary

• Framework is a first step towards a complete
  product modeling architecture supporting the full
  PLM philosophy
• Research needed
• identify other framework components needed
• clarify product information needs of PLM process
• consider interactions between product data
  provided by framework and metadata maintained by
  PLM system
• Identify information exchange standards that can
  provide needed degree of interoperability