Knowledge-based design for manufacture and assembly critique system for rotational machined parts

Concurrent product design involves the simultaneous consideration of various design activities throughout the product life cycle. To provide a general guideline, a framework of concurrent engineering for DFA and DFM is developed. One of the modules in the framework, a knowledge-based design critique system for manufacture and assembly of rotational machined parts is presented here. Feature-based design is used to provide a means of representing rotational parts with machining features and relationships between them. By incorporating design guidelines into the design critique system, we provide an early critique to rotational part design and reduce the problems and adjustments which may occur in the manufacturing and assembly processes.