Haptic perception of fine surface features is a fundamental modality to identify virtual objects. Roughness and stickiness, which are modeled as surface textures and friction respectively, are the main characteristics in terms of haptics. This research is aimed at the haptic rendering method of fine surface features based on the analysis of the surface profile. Functionally generated surface features are employed for the haptic rendering of surface textures and surface friction. Haptic rendering of anisotropic surface -surface having a dominant feature direction, and haptic rendering of heterogeneous surface -surface with a varied feature density, are investigated. Experimental measurements and prototype system implementations have been done to show the fidelity of the proposed surface feature modeling methods.
Truing and dressing are essential processes of grinding wheel preparation. They make the wheel geometry true with respect to its rotational axis and its cutting surface sharp. These factors significantly influence the quality of the final profile and surface produced from the grinding process. Prediction of the optimum wheel surface for grinding, defined as one which produces an accurate profile and cuts most efficiently can greatly minimize the time to optimize grinding wheel performance. This paper describes virtual dressing and truing operations, takes under account vibration of the dressing apparatus and shows how to generate wheel surface replica under different conditions.
The Engineering Problem Solving process has two aspects. It relies on the talent of the designer on the one hand and the efficiency of the problem solving tools on the other. Talent is an attribute of a person. It is very difficult to formalize the talent of an individual, and no satisfactory formalization has been achieved successfully. For this reason only the original designer’s talent and his/her knowledge and experience are available for use during the problem solving process. However, there are several choices and decisions that can be made concerning methods, algorithms, and software packages. After those choices are made the next steps in the problem solving process can be outlined. The problem solving method described in this paper is called a Brief Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (BTIPS) and was developed on the basis of TRIZ (Russian: теория решения изобретательских задач, teoriya resheniya izobretatelskikh zadatch) and TIPS (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) and taught at the University of Connecticut (UConn). The application of this method starts with the accurate definition of the problem. The problem has to be properly separated from the environment. Further problem solving choices depend on the knowledge of the designer and include the right sequence of steps, definition of contradictions, choice of solution modules, algorithms, definition of designed systems and subsystems, and choice of elements and objects. There are several further paths to be selected and resulting decisions to be made. Those decisions and the processes following them are described in this paper. The recommendations for the proper path are given and the procedures are discussed. The derivation of the Ideal Solution is described and tests of the solution’s effectiveness and economy are given. The experience gained from teaching one Mechanical Engineering course, three MEM (Management Engineering for Manufacturing) courses at UConn, one graduate course at UConn, one graduate course at the University of Fairfield, and several special non-academic courses for practicing engineers is summarized. Some students’ opinions are analyzed and recommendations for further education and the practice of engineering problem solving are derived. The references to the existing teaching, research, practice, and development studies are quoted. This paper is devoted to the characteristics of BTIPS method. The companion paper [1] is devoted to the characteristics of the software that could be used with the method. TIPS (the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) is a further development of Altshuller’s theory done by Invention Machine under the leadership of Valery Tsourikov [2]. BTIPS (Brief Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) is a simplified version of TIPS developed at the University of Connecticut (UConn) especially for teaching purposes, though it is also powerful when applied to engineering practice problems [3].
The process of generating the most attractive product concepts in engineering design is still one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. There are several tools for supporting this extremely uncontrollable phase of engineering design. Except for the method, the problem-solving software is the very important tool. One of the most useful methods in teaching and learning, i.e. Brief Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (BTIPS), is discussed in other papers [1], [2], [3] and [4]. This paper is devoted to the software supporting the problem solving process. There is still no software suitable for a completely satisfactory automation of the conceptual design process. However there are some software packages that could be the most helpful in supporting the process and would greatly influence the quality of the final product, especially in cases of contradicting constraints. In this paper some results of the research on the use and effectiveness of Invention Machine (IM™) software products are described. Four packages are discussed and compared: the IM v. 2 for Windows, TechOptimizer v. 3.5, TechOptimizer v. 4.0 and Goldfire v. 6.5. Goldfire v. 6.5 evaluation is still in the process and is not completely finished yet. The first three packages were used in teaching several junior, senior and graduate courses at the University of Connecticut (UConn) for many years. The experience with Goldfire v. 6.5 is comparatively limited. In the research described in this paper the content and the teaching effectiveness of the software packages in teaching were studied. Data from student feedback was evaluated, conclusions were derived. On the basis of this - recommendations for the future use of the software are offered. This paper concentrates on some instrumental software qualities that could be used in teaching of solving problems of industrial products conceptual design. The user’s experience and its connection with the effectiveness of the packages used are discussed in the paper. Conclusions are derived at the end.
In this paper the authors share some experience from the seven years of offering Computer-Aided Design tutorials to selected top high school students in the scope of the UConn Mentor Connection program at the University of Connecticut. UConn Mentor Connection is a three-week, residential, summer enrichment program for young people entering the last two years of high school. The program has been designed to provide rising high school juniors and seniors with opportunities to participate in cutting-edge research investigations and creative projects under the supervision of university mentors. This paper describes "Design Site" activities. In the first part of these activities students have learned the method of solving conflicting problems with BTIPS (Brief Theory of Inventing Problem Solving). The method is used with IM (Invention Machine TM ) and TO (TechOptimazer TM ) software packages. Using these two packages the students have to solve three problems and learn Computer-Aided Report Generation. In the second part of activities the students solve design problems for future needs. These are problems connected with space travel, improvement of the Connecticut highway transportation and design of nano-machines. In the past the students have done conceptual designs of a space communication racket, flying cars, nanorobots and nano-motors. The students worked with the Engineering Computer and CAD Laboratories equipped with DELL PC's and SGI stations, as well as with Stereo3D Eyeviewer systems, and the SGI Inventor package.
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