Engida Woldemichael, D. and Mohd Hashim, F. (2011) A framework for functionbased conceptual design support system. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, 9(3), pp. 250-272. ISSN 1726-0531
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the framework of conceptual design support tool (CDST) developed to assist designers during conceptual design process. The premise of the study is that, by combining human creativity with computer capabilities, it is possible to perform conceptual design process more efficiently than solely manual design. The study aims to show how conceptual design knowledge can be captured from experienced designers and kept in the computer system for later use and how the developed tool assists designers by handling some of the repetitive and timeconsuming tasks. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual design process model, which integrates systematic design approach with knowledgebased system, is proposed. Based on this model, a CDST, which consists of function library, alternative concepts database, different modules for conceptual design activities, and a knowledgebased system is developed. The alternative concepts database is built based on design reuse philosophy. Furthermore, the tool is designed to accept and save new concepts from the user through its knowledge acquisition module without modifying the source code. The CDST is developed using public domain open source programming environments namely CLIPS, Python, wxPython, and PyCLIPS. Findings – Through its graphical user interface, CDST assists designers in performing the conceptual design process such as functional modelling, using standard vocabularies of functions, generating concepts and displaying on morphology chart, concept combination, and concept evaluation. The functionality and interaction between the user and the CDST is demonstrated with an example. Research limitations/implications – Currently, the alternative concepts database consists of concepts from subsea process equipment design and few general mechanical designs. The database can be enhanced by adding more concepts through the knowledge acquisition module provided. Practical implications The tool can be used as a knowledge management system in industry by capturing expertise knowledge and to train novice designers. It augments designer's knowledge by providing concepts from past designs. Originality/value – The research output from this paper can be valuable resource in industry to support designers with computers. The research represents one of the attempts to develop domain independent conceptual design tool that can acquire new concepts throughout its lifetime.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | artificial intelligence; computer aided design; concept generation; conceptual design; mechanical design |
| Index terms: | conceptual design, research output, user interface, programming, vocabularies, computer system, database, philosophy, computer aided design, designer, creativity, knowledge acquisition, methodology, modelling, artificial intelligence, module, knowledge management system, interaction, functionality |
| Subjects: | knowledge organization and systems, design features, research methods, architectural elements, human-computer interaction, philosophical studies, data management, artificial intelligence, innovation and creative processes, information systems, computational design, profession, design practice, research products and data, behavioral psychology, programming, analytical methods, student development, computing systems |
| Topics: | Engineering Principles, Education, Design Practice, Roles and Professions, Information Management, Research Practice, Digital Applications |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here