Automatic Virtual Entity Simulation of Conceptual Design Results-Part II:Symbolic Scheme Simulation

The development of new products of high quality, low unit cost, and short lead time to market are the key elements required for any enterprise to obtain a competitive advantage. This part of the paper presents a methodology to automatically simulate the conceptual design results in the virtual entity form. To the identified basic mechanisms, their kinematic analysis is carried out by matching basic Barranov trusses, and their virtual entities are modeled based on feature-based technique and encapsulated as one design object. Based on the structures of the basic mechanisms and their connections, a space layout to the mechanical system corresponding to the symbolic scheme is then fulfilled. With the preset-assembly approach, all parts in the mechanical system are put onto proper positions where the constraint equations are met according to the space layout results. In this way, the virtual entity assembly model of the mechanical system relative to the symbolic scheme is set up. The approach presented in this paper can not only obtain innovative conceptual conceptual design results, but also can evaluate their performances under 3-D enviroment efficently.