3D Model Annotation as a Tool for Improving Design Intent Communication: A Case Study on its Impact in the Engineering Change Process

Alducin-Quintero, Gerardo; Rojo, A.; Plata, Francisco; Hernández, Armando Contreras; Contero, Manuel

doi:10.1115/detc2012-70872

Cited by 14 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…When combined with PLM systems, these models facilitate the distributed development that is possible in the MBE setting (Caldwell & Mocko, 2008;Regli et al, 2000). For example, when a model is documented, both humans and computers can easily process and reuse the information, which eliminates errors, minimizes labor, and ultimately reduces the cost of supporting and maintaining the product throughout its life (Alducin-Quintero et al, 2012;Drury et al, 2013). However, the heterogeneous nature of the annotations as well as managing the links to the specific aspects of the model, make PLM integration a challenging task.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the integration of model-based feature information in Product Lifecycle Management systems

Camba

Contero

Pérez

2017

International Journal of Information Management

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As CAD models continue to become more critical information sources in the product's lifecycle, it is necessary to develop efficient mechanisms to store, retrieve, and manage larger volumes of increasingly complex data. Because of their unique characteristics, 3D annotations can be used to embed design and manufacturing information directly into a CAD model, which makes models effective vehicles to describe aspects of the geometry or provide additional information that can be connected to a particular geometric element. However, access to this information is often limited, difficult, and even unavailable to external applications. As model complexity and volume of information continue to increase, new and more powerful methods to interrogate these annotations are needed.In this paper, we demonstrate how 3D annotations can be effectively structured and integrated into a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system to provide a cohesive view of product-related information in a design environment. We present a strategy to organize and manage annotation information which is stored internally in a CAD model, and make it fully available through the PLM. Our method involves a dual representation of 3D annotations with enhanced data structures that provides shared and easy access to the information. We describe the architecture of a system which includes a software component for the CAD environment and a module that integrates with the PLM server. We validate our approach through a software prototype that uses a parametric modeling application and two commercial PLM packages with distinct data models.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the integration of model-based feature information in Product Lifecycle Management systems

Camba

Contero

Pérez

2017

International Journal of Information Management

Self Cite

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“…It also expresses the manner in which the designer expects the geometric model to behave when it is modified [Alducin-Quintero et al, 2012]. Design intent becomes critical in situations where the user altering a model is not the original creator, such as in collaborative design scenarios.…”

Section: Design Intent Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of model annotations as a tool to supplement CAD models by including product data and design information within the geometry has been the subject of active research [Davies & McMahon, 2006;Ding et al, 2009b;Alducin-Quintero et al, 2012]. Authors [Patel et al, 2008] recognized the need to enhance the geometric model of a product with information that is relevant to the various stages of the product lifecycle (such as design rationale, context, extra information needed for a certain point of view, etc) as critical for CAD engineering model representations.…”

Section: Auxiliary Viewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the CAD community, researchers and practitioners have begun to experiment with the potential of 3D CAD annotation tools as a means to add design notes to 3D models [Alducin-Quintero et al, 2012]. Despite the progress made by the software engineering industry, few studies address the quality assessment of 3D annotations in CAD models and the inclusion of Product and Manufacturing Information as a native part of a CAD file.…”

Section: Annotations In Software Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The ability to communicate design intent information using annotations, however, has proven to be difficult, although there are reasons to believe they can serve this purpose effectively as long as proper mechanisms are in place [Alducin-Quintero et al, 2012].…”

Section: Determining the Effects Of Annotations In Design Intent Commmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Annotation Mechanisms to Manage Design Knowledge in Complex Parametric Models and Their Effects on Alteration and Reusability

Camba¹

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSI would like to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation to my advisor, Professor Dr. Manuel Contero, for his expert guidance, support, and valuable suggestions and critiques to this work. Thank you for accepting me as your PhD student and giving me the opportunity to work with you. I honestly could not have asked for a better advisor.I also thank my family for their love, patience, and support throughout this process and for letting me steal their valuable time to work on this dissertation. It is my hope that their sacrifice has finally paid off. ABSTRACTDespite the evolution of technologies intended to facilitate and optimize product development processes and foster collaboration, effective reuse of 3D models remains one of the biggest challenges in the area of ComputerAided Design. Whether a manufacturer is designing a new commercial aircraft or a household appliance, engineering teams often start with existing designs and adapt them to new cases, rather than designing every product from scratch. Nevertheless, CAD model reuse is not effectively supported by conventional CAD packages, as much of the burden related to reusability lies on the CAD user.It has been shown that CAD model reusability largely depends on a proper definition and communication of the geometric design intent, which are usually expressed implicitly within the CAD model. This implicit representation makes it difficult for CAD users interacting with a CAD model to understand how and why the model was created in a specific manner. This is especially true for models being reworked by designers that are not the original creators of the models. The inability to understand and modify existing CAD models negatively affects reusability and hinders the collaborative design process. The problem becomes more relevant in modelbased engineering environments, where 3D models are used as the main shared data source for all engineering activities throughout the product life cycle.Recent research has explored the potential of 3D annotations as tools to carry design intent information. The focus of this doctoral research is to study the effectiveness of 3D CAD annotation techniques to support the explicit representation and communication of design intent, and to analyze the impact of these techniques in the alteration and reutilization of 3D models in a product design context. Literature shows that a good and structured methodology is an essential step to create parametric models that are reusable and can be altered easily. However, when models reach a certain level of complexity in terms of number of features and interdependencies, additional mechanisms must be established so design intent can be communicated effectively in an explicit manner. In this regard, a comparative study was conducted to determine the complexity of three professionally accepted modeling methodologies. These methodologies represent a group of well tested and documented methodologies that are currently available to the public. An efficient 5 modeling methodology c...

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Management of Visual Clutter in Annotated 3D CAD Models: A Comparative Study

Camba

Contero

Johnson

2014

Design, User Experience, and Usability. User Experience Design for Diverse Interaction Platforms and Environments

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Abstract. The use of annotations in CAD models has been an active area of research because of their ability to connect design information to specific aspects of the model's geometry. The effectiveness of annotations is determined by the ability to clearly communicate information. However, annotations can quickly create clutter and confusion as they increase both in number and complexity. Consequently, efficient interaction and visualization mechanisms become crucial. Despite recent standardizations of procedures for the presentation of textual information in CAD models, no explicit guidelines are available as to how to make annotated models more readable and manageable.In this paper, we present the results of a comparative study of different mechanisms to manage visual clutter in annotated 3D CAD models and offer recommendations based on our findings. Our results show that even basic interaction mechanisms have a substantial impact on user's performance.

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3D Model Annotation as a Tool for Improving Design Intent Communication: A Case Study on its Impact in the Engineering Change Process

Cited by 14 publications

References 17 publications

On the integration of model-based feature information in Product Lifecycle Management systems

On the integration of model-based feature information in Product Lifecycle Management systems

Annotation Mechanisms to Manage Design Knowledge in Complex Parametric Models and Their Effects on Alteration and Reusability

Management of Visual Clutter in Annotated 3D CAD Models: A Comparative Study

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