3D Conceptual Design of Sheet Metal Products by Sketching

Design of sheet metal products can be a complex and elaborate process. However, many important aspects of the manufacturing characteristics of a product are already determined at the early stages of the design. This paper reports on a system for conceptual design of sheet metal products by sketching, based on principles of early incorporation of CAD, imprecise analysis, and natural, incontext interaction. Using this approach, various preliminary aspects of a product, such as manufacturability, optimal flat pattern, weight and cost can be estimated automatically based on only a rough freehand sketch of a product, without requiring accurate details. This approach permits designers to explore new concepts more freely and to make a sounder decision when selecting a particular concept for detailed design. The paper describes the concept of the proposed methodology and its underlying algorithms for efficient flat-pattern determination based on fuzzy AI techniques. Examples from a working implementation are shown.