Topic:
metadata and workflow processes
Under the generic term of collaborative product
commerce (CPC), a growing number of IT-tools is currently entering the market
in order to empower Simultaneous Engineering over globally distributed
workplaces. These tools concentrate on offering technologies that support and
coordinate product design processes in a global environment. The result is a
further increase of information flow, but no solution has been forthcoming for
finding freely structured or even unstructured information easily.
We can surmise that in the future, the design
process will be entirely different from today. It is probably safe to say that
two-dimensional sketches on paper will be completely replaced by digital tools
that allow the three-dimensional drafting of technical assemblies, maybe with
the help of pattern matching routines. These smart sketching tools, fitted with
classifiable geometric information, will enable quick interaction part
catalogues, i.e. from manufacturing companies.
SVG are a W3C-endorsed internet standard for a
syntax that describes graphical information in vector form, making it possible
to include them into web-documents. SVG are based on XML and allow the
classification of sketches by providing integrated descriptions of geometrical
features. Another advantage of SVGs is the possibility of defining specific
features and feature libraries by including meta-information directly into the
files describing technical drawings.
It has already been tried to standardize such
features for the early phases of product design in the form of symbols for
sketches of principle. These are schematic, mostly freehand drawings of work principles
for machine systems.
There are two possible scenarios for the
integration of SVGs in the design process:
Today, many enterprises own hundreds of thousands of digitally stored 2D-drawings. These are either ordered through metadata or not ordered at all. Classification by geometric information for example with the Opitz-key, has been found to be too complex for practical use. With SVGs, it is possible to automatically identify individual mechanical elements in drawings and to classify the files accordingly.
The basis of most new designs is still a
hand-drawn sketch on paper. Attempts at standardizing the symbols that are to
be used in sketches of principle have failed, because they potentially impede
the creativity of the designer. The idea is now to combine automatically
identifiable SVG-primitives (i.e. "circle") with an extended description of
construction elements from a library (hinge, screw, etc.) that the designer can
select for his sketch. The designs that are described in this way are
referenced into a relational database, thereby supporting complex search
strategies. An example for a query could be: find all drawings with circles
smaller than 25mm and a library element "hinge".
The aim of this project is to exchange the
metaphor of the sketch of principle for a computer-supported concept which
automatically adds construction meta-information to a sketch during its
creation. Aside of classifying sketches generated with a SVG-Editor or scanned
from paper and converted to a vector-based form afterwards, this SVG-based tool
will allow easy retrieval of this data on simple database queries.
[Opi-71] Opitz, H.:
Die richtige Sachnummer im
Fertigungsbetrieb.
Girardet-Taschenbücher
Technik Bd. 2, Essen: Girardet Verlag 1971
Authors/presenters:
Dr. Uwe
Leonhardt Jan
Hoffmann
Intelliact
AG IMES-ZPE
Siewerdtstrasse
105 ETH Zentrum
CLA E23
Tannenstr.
3
CH-8050
Zürich CH-8092
Zürich
Switzerland Switzerland
phone +41-1-315 67 40 +41-1-632 04 16
fax +41-1-315 67 59 +41-1-632 11 81
uwe.leonhardt@intelliact.ch jhoffmann@imes.mavt.ethz.ch