Faculty Early Career Development: Research in Combinatorial Structure of Mechanical Parts

9502728 Shapiro机械系统快速成型的一个主要障碍是缺乏 组合模型来描述机械形式，功能和制造过程， 离散的、简单的和交互的基元。 这项研究的目的是调查一个 单件机械的机械形式、功能和制造之间的组合关系 （1）研究、试验和修改现有的生产实践， 工业零件类;（2）发展能够支持系统化创造的新理论， 基于物理和制造的这些部件的组合模型的修改 特征;（3）开发计算机算法，表示和系统， 与现有的商业CAD软件结合使用。 教育计划认为， 建模是工程语言发展的中间阶段。 用新的知识 通过研究，工程分析、设计和制造方面的学科可以 重组和系统化。 这将有助于沿着一条从solid 建模向更一般的机械和物理建模学科发展。 洞察力和新 从这项研究中得到的知识应该会导致更好的工程设计方法， 在众多工程活动之间进行更有效的沟通，提高生产效率 流程. 将这些结果推广到机械功能、过程和系统， 多个相互作用的部分和现象可以提高我们有效地自动化某些方面的能力 同时还结合了重要的人体工程学知识和实验。

9502728 Shapiro A major roadblock for rapid prototyping of mechanical systems is the absence of combinatorial models to describe mechanical forms, functions, and fabrication processes in terms of discrete, simple, and interacting primitives. The goal of this research is to investigate a combinatorial relationship among mechanical form, function, and fabrication for single-part mechanical components by (1) studying, experimenting with, and modifying existing production practices for a class of industrial parts; (2) developing a new theory capable of supporting systematic creation and modification of combinatorial models of such parts based on physical and manufacturing characteristics; and (3) developing computer algorithms, representations, and systems that can be used in conjunction with existing commercial CAD software. The education plan considers solid modeling as an intermediate stage in the evolution of engineering languages. With new knowledge resulting from the research, subjects in engineering analysis, design, and manufacturing can be reorganized and systematized. This will contribute to progress along a migration path from solid modeling toward the more general disciplines of mechanical and physical modeling. Insights and new knowledge resulting from this research should lead to better approaches toward engineering design, more effective communication among many engineering activities, and more efficient production processes. Generalizing these results to mechanical functions, processes and systems that involve multiple interacting parts and phenomena can improve our ability to effectively automate some aspects of design while still incorporating important human engineering knowledge and experimentation.