Automated generation of the computer-aided design model from the system structure for mechanical systems based on systems modeling language

Abstract

The system-level structure model significantly affects the subsequent development process. However, such a model cannot be used directly due to its document-based representation. A significant gap exists between the system-level model and the detailed domain-specific model. The model integration method significantly facilitates the design scenario involving different design phases because it supports tasks such as complexity management and consistency maintenance. However, the automated generation of the computer-aided design model from the systems modeling language-based structure model of the mechanical system is a typical issue. In this study, a meta-model-based approach is proposed to generate the initial computer-aided design model represented by the STEP file from the systems modeling language-based system structure model. A geometry-related system structure modeling method is described, and the triple graph grammar is introduced to transform the systems modeling language model into the EXPRESS model. An automated generation algorithm is proposed to construct the initial computer-aided design model for mechanical systems against the ISO 10303-203 (AP 203) standard by parsing the EXPRESS model. Our approach facilitates model integration and helps reduce the gap between the system-level structure model and the computer-aided design model. This reduction would be beneficial for eliminating misunderstandings between different designers and thus to accelerate the design process. Finally, an example of an engine is provided to illustrate the proposed method.

Automated generation of control logic from system design based on SysML and the IEC 61499 Function Block

“…To design and verify distributed industrial manufacturing control systems, Hirsch et al 20 adopted SysML in the system specification stage for capturing requirements and building a consistent specification. Fan et al 21 extended SysML to represent geometric information of the system structure, from which the initial computer-aided design (CAD) models could be automatically generated. Cao et al 22 represented computational hybrid dynamic behaviour models of mechatronic systems in SysML, which can be transformed into executable simulation models.…”

ArchME: A Systems Modeling Language extension for mechatronic system architecture modeling

“…Baysal et al (2005) propose a method to model the geometry and position on UML, but the general position for each part is difficult to calculate using this method. Fan et al (2015) studied geometry modeling of mechatronic systems in the early design stage by extending SysML. It has been used here because it is convincing and easy to understand.…”

“…The rough spatial relationship between components can be seen with this figure. This geometry model can also be converted to CAD software (Fan et al, 2015) to show the rough shape of the component and the spatial constraints between components. This model can be used to guide detail design.…”