Scott M. Staley

Enterprise integration of product development data: systems science in action

The work program of complexity (WPOC), stemming from systems science, was applied by a large cross-functional team of Ford engineers and system developers in the mid-1990s as an enabler to create an enterprise-wide information system known as the C3P system. This brief descriptor refers to a CAD/CAE/CAM/PIMS system, applied to design, engineer, and manufacture automobiles; and further to provide product information across and beyond the entire enterprise, extending into the supplier and customer base. The design foundation of the C3P system retains its utility today. The only system changes have arisen from technological upgrades which are independent of the original design strategy.

Designing Integrated Engineering Environments: Blackboard-Based Integration of Design and Analysis Tools

Blackboard-based integration of multiple agents is a natural and viable technology for the implementation of concurrent-engineering (CE) environments This article presents a blackboard architecture that has been extended to support the integration of heterogeneous collabora tive agents The suitability of the architecture as an integration framework for CE applications is discussed, followed by a description of a proto type CE application developed as part of Ford Motor Companys participation in the RRM (Rapid Response Manufacturing) Consortium 1 The prototype is a mixed-initiative, multiuser, multiprocessing environment that integrates heterogeneous agents working on crankshaft design, analy sis, and manufacturing-feasibility assessment The effectiveness of the RRM prototype and the ease and speed with which it was created demon strates that blackboard-based integration technology is appropriate for building multiagent concurrent-engineering applications

Structural thinking: Organizing complexity through disciplined activity

In todays world, large-scale systems are frequently involved in levels of complexity that have a serious and global impact on productivity. A context model is set forth that facilitates a new definition of complexity, providing a background against which a science of complexity can be developed, and describing an empirical process from which the complexity of any particular situation can be quantified through a situation complexity index. In moving toward a science of complexity, the desirability of incorporating semiotics as a component of the science is indicated, because of the contributions semiotics makes to understanding the foundations and ubiquity of modelling. In the development of models, as semiotics indicates, the connection between what is being modelled and the language of description in the model is critical. Structural analysis clarifies the inappropriateness of models comprised only of prose to convey a description of a complex situation. Illustrative examples from the practice of interactive management (a system of management that supports the development and interpretation of structural models of complex situations, and design of improved systems) show the significance of structural thinking as the primary intellectual mode required to manage or cope with complexity. Group activity that would otherwise be invalidated by spreadthink is converted into a powerful approach to in-depth learning about a complex situation, which then provides a well-supported foundation for an organized attack to bring a complex situation under control.

STEP AP203 data exchange study

A STEP AP203 Data Exchange Pilot, sponsored by the Rapid Respnse Manufacturing Consortium, was conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of exchanging product definition data between Ford and GM-Saginaw Division using STEP technology, The data exchange focus in this project was on B-REP (Boundary Representation) solid model data and limited CM (configuration management) data. These are areas uniquely supported by STEP, and not the usual domain of IGES based data exchange. In addition to demonstrating fesaibiiity, the project team also assessed Use production-ready status of the exchange process. A solid model of the GM Saginaw designed and manufactured power-steering pump was selected by the project team to be the specific part transferred between the companies. A detailed study of the design process that exists within Ford when a supplier has major design responsibility was conducted and the study confirmed the benefit of having fulI 3-D soiid models of system packaging from suppliers early in the design process. Final] y, the packaging model (3-D solid model) of the Saginaw powersteering pump was successfully transferred from the Unigraphics system. where original design work WaS accomplished, through the use of STEP data exchange specification AP203, into the Ford’s internal CAD system, PDGS, where packaging studies would be conducted during the Ford design process. However this process required manual editing of the STEP physical file. A reverse transfer was also accomplished, whereby design changes were made in the solid model by Ford engineers and sent back to Saginaw engineers and into Unigraphics. This process did not require manual intervention. Overall feasibility was demonstrated, but more testing and development work is needed to achieve robust, automated data exchange using STEP. 1.0 Introduction A project to assess the production readiness of software products to support the exchange of product design data, in particuhr solid models, using the emerging international standard STEP was commissioned by the Rapid Response Manufacturing Consortium (RRM) in March 1994. The principle objective of the project was to use off-the-shelf software, written to provide data translation capability for sharing solid models using STEP. To test this capability a solid model of a power steering pump Permission to copy without fee all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, the ACM copyright notice and the title of the publication and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of the Association of Computing Machinery.To copy otherwise, or to republish, requires a fee and/or specific permission. Solid Modeling ’95, Salt Lake City, Utah USA

Rapid integration of CAE analysis programs using a blackboard approach

This paper presents an approach for rapidly integrating CAE analysis programs into complex engineering methodologies. The blackboard technique has been adopted in the implementation of this approach, especially for the process scheduling, monitoring, and potentially, diagnosis. This approach has now been implemented and tested in prototyping projects on several engineering methodologies involving multiple analysis programs.<<ETX>>