CATIA V5 Knowledgeware & Automation

North Texas Regional User Group January 25, 2002

Johnny Hicks Tom Toomey Lee Encapera IBM PLM Solutions
Product Lifecycle Management

Agenda - CATIA V5 Knowledgeware

Why Knowledgeware and Automation CATIA Native Capabilities
Parameters, Formulae, Design Tables Templates, Power Copies

CATIA Knowledgeware
Knowledge Advisor (KWA) Knowledge Expert (KWE) Generative Knowledge (KWG) Product Engineering Optimizer(PEO) Product Knowledge Template (PKT)

Demonstration
Product Lifecycle Management

Why Automation and Knowledgeware

Intellectual Capital & Knowledge Management
The need to Pull Information from the Knowledge repository inhibits opportunities for innovation Need to ensure that Knowledge capture is easy and develop a knowledge aware culture Need to automate delivery of knowledge required at the point of use and to ensure consistent application.

Product Lifecycle Management

Why Automation and Knowledgeware

Cost Reduction
Improved Efficiencies Improved Quality Through Standardization

Customization
Provide additional functionality not provided in native products Manipulate existing function to better fit customer processes
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Why Automation and Knowledgeware

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V5 Automation Tiers

VB and VBA Customization CATIA Knowledgeware Native CATIA

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Ease of Implementation

CAA

Native CATIA Automation

Parameters
A feature defining a document or object property.

Formulas
A feature used to define or constrain a parameter

Design Table
A table containing values to be applied to a document to manage parameter values

Templates(Seed Files)
A Document used to store and reuse intent

Power Copy
A set of features (geometric elements, relations, constraints) grouped in a generic context to be used in a specific context
Product Lifecycle Management

More About Parameters

Intrinsic Parameters
Parameters inherent to a CATIA Document or Feature

User Defined
Parameters created by the user for a specific purpose

Magnitude (Real, Length, Speed) String Boolean Geometric (Point, Circle, Plane) Import From Spread Sheet

Product Lifecycle Management

More About Formulae

Formulae
Relations specifying a constraint on a parameter. The formula relation is a one-line statement. Its left part is the parameter to be constrained, the right part is a relation taking as its variables other parameters. A formula is a feature. In the document specification tree, it is displayed as a relation that can be activated or deactivated. Like any feature, a formula can be manipulated from its contextual menu.

Formula Wizard
A tool provided to assist with the syntax and format while applying a formula to a parameter.

Product Lifecycle Management

More About Design Tables

Design Table
A member of the Relations collection allowing the definition of multiple configurations of Parts and Products from a single document. The multiple configurations are defined by assigning Part or Product Parameters to cells within a table. An associative link is created between spread sheet and Part or Product Spread Sheet can be internalized to allow portability between Unix and Windows

Table formats
Excel Spread Sheet (Windows Only) Lotus 1-2-3 Spread Sheet (Windows Only) Tab Delimited Text Files (Windows and Unix) Vertical or Horizontal

Product Lifecycle Management

More About Templates

Template
A document (Part, Product, Drawing, Process) created in a general context for reuse in a specific context. The new context is defined be modifying parameters or replacing specification geometry.

Product Lifecycle Management

CATIA Part

More About Power Copy

PowerCopy
A feature containing Geometry, Parameters and Relations created in a general context for reuse in a specific context. The new context is defined by selecting geometric inputs and specifying public parameters. A Graphical interface is provide to guide user through selection of inputs and valuation of parameters. Can be instantiated from a Document or from a feature catalog.

Product Lifecycle Management

CATIA Knowledgeware Applications

Knowledgware Advisor
Powerful tool to organize and manipulate parameters, create flexible rules and specification checks.

Knowledgware Expert
A tool to analyze and manipulate features across a design, to ensure product designs are per company standards.

Generative Knowledge
Provides an easy way to describe the data used to create documents and to store this data in a script file.

Product Lifecycle Management

CATIA Knowledgeware Applications(cont.)

Product Engineering Optimizer
Allows the engineer to minimize, maximize or target a specification through multiple parameter variation.

Product Knowledge Template

Provides the capability to create a user defined feature.

Product Functional Definition

Maps a products functional definition to the physical representation Understand the problems associated with each concept
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More About Knowledge Advisor

Rule: A rule is a set of instructions whereby you can control certain parameters and events according to a context Check: A Check is a set of instructions used to analyze the value of specific parameters. It causes no events. It simply provides feedback to users Silent : No message is displayed Information: A user defined message is displayed Information: A user defined message is displayed Behavior: A Behavior is a set of instructions, written in VBScript, to be executed when a shape feature, such as a hole or pad, is dragged and dropped. Parameter Explorer: The Parameter Explorer allows for the assignment of parameters to features.

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More About Knowledge Advisor(cont.)

Set of Parameters: Allows for the creation of sets of Parameters to provide additional organization capabilities for user defined Parameters. Set of Relations: Allows for the creation of sets of Relations to provide organizational capabilities for formulae, rules, checks etc.. VB with Arguments: Allows for the creation of VBScript Macros with user defined assignments. Macros written in this context do not require input boxes. Sets of Equations: Provides the capability to solve a system of unknown variables

Product Lifecycle Management

Knowledge Advisor Rules

KWA Rule use a simple syntax based on VBScript Conditional statements created using If, Else If and Else statements (Then is not required) Standard operators: >, < , <=, => , <> ,==, And, Or, etc.. Multiple statements can be executed for each conditional statement, but must be bracketed with the {curly bracket}.

If (MCU_NB ==1) {MCU_A_1 = true MCU_A_2 = false MCU_A_3 = false MCU_A_4 = false MCU_A_5 = false MCU_A_6 = false MCU_DIST_6 = MCU_DIST_1 }

Product Lifecycle Management

Knowledge Advisor Rules Ex1. Spring Back for HydroBlock

Spring Back for Hydroblock is defined base upon:
Material Bend Radius Part Material Thickness
If (Part_Material == "ALUMINUM 2024-O") And (Part_Thickness == 0.018in) {If Part_Bend_Radius1 == 0.06in Spring_Back_Angle1 = (Part_Angle1/90deg) * 3deg If Part_Bend_Radius1 == 0.09in Spring_Back_Angle1 = (Part_Angle1/90deg) * 4deg If Part_Bend_Radius1 == 0.12in Spring_Back_Angle1 = (Part_Angle1/90deg) * 5.5deg If Part_Bend_Radius1 == 0.16in Spring_Back_Angle1 = (Part_Angle1/90deg) * 6deg If Part_Bend_Radius1 == 0.19in

Rule was written referencing values being used today in an Existing V4 Spring Back Macro

Product Lifecycle Management

Knowledge Advisor Rules Ex2. Manufacturing Context

KWA Rule for Controlling Cutter Feeds and Speeds based on Work Piece Material.
If (ncmat == "Aluminium") {Rough = 40in_mn Finish = 40in_mn Retract = 100in_mn Approach = 20 in_mn Cut_Depth = .25in} If (ncmat == "Titanium") {Rough = 15in_mn Finish = 10in_mn Retract = 15in_mn Approach = 5 in_mn

Product Lifecycle Management

Knowledge Advisor Rules Ex3. Product Context

KWA Rule for Ensuring Casters for ABF tool meet minimum specifications Utilizes Measure Inertia Function to Obtain mass parameter for Rule Utilizes Rule inserted from feature Catalog Rule executes VBScript macro if certain conditions are met.
CATIA Product If `Part\External Parameters\Mass` > Caster\Max_Load * 4 LaunchMacroFromFile("c:\KW-Auto\Measures_Catalog_MacroCall\Caster_Change.CATScript")

Product Lifecycle Management

Knowledge Advisor Rules Ex4. Avionics Box Configurator

Multiple KWA Rules in both Product and Part Contexts Product Context Rules define the Configuration and set Parameters driving Part Rules Part Context Rules define the activity of features and size of part to match the specifications of the product configuration. Internal VB script uses Product and Part Parameters to define content and location of cable Connectors.

Product Lifecycle Management

More About Knowledgeware Expert

The Knowledge Expert product allows you to create and manipulate relation-type features. These particular features are organized into a hierarchy. The rule base object is at the top of this hierarchy, the expert rules and expert checks are the terminal objects. In between you can find the rule sets which gather rules and checks.
Expert Rule: An expert rule is a set of instructions whereby you can start an action for any object having a type defined in a type list. Expert Check: An expert check is a relation which only verifies that a condition is true for all the objects of one or more given types. It does not modify the document it is applied to. Solve: The user action which fires an expert Rule or Check Report: A Rule Base report will provide information regarding the compliance of the product design relative to the rule base

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Knowledgeware Expert Example

Scenario: Company has developed a rule base for Clips and Angled Clips. This rule base specifies that only certain pilot hole diameters and fillet sizes can be used. We will apply this rule base to a clip which is already modeled.

Product Lifecycle Management

More About Product Engineering Optimizer

The Product Engineering Optimizer is tool to optimize product and part designs by minimizing, maximizing or targeting specific parameter values. These parameter values can be driven by a function or shape.
Optimizing Algorithms
Conjugate Gradient : Best used when the function being optimized is known, continuous and has a single optimum Simulated Annealing: Best used when the objective function shape is not known (mass of a product).

Termination Criteria
Max Number of Update Cycles Max Number of Update Cycles without improvement Max Time

Optimizing constraints can be applied to check optimization results against design intent.

Product Lifecycle Management

Product Engineering Optimizer Example

Scenario: We will be designing the locating surface of an ABF. We have a design specification dictating that the area of the locating surface of an ABF must be at least twice that of the surface it is locating. We will use PEO to ensure we comply with this specification.

Product Lifecycle Management

Success Stories
PSA Peugeot Citroen Tooling Knowledge Embedded in PowerTrain Parts and Assemblies Automatic Rule Based System For Tooling Generation Automated Validation Process with embedded Checks Business Impacts Productivity : Tooling Design Time Reduced by 50% Reactivity : Generic Intelligent Tooling Models Anticipate Changes Asset creation : Knowledge Captured and shared as a reference for all

Product Lifecycle Management

Success Stories
Valeo - Wiper Systems
3D design is based on Structure (wireframe) model Wipe Pattern is developed and analysed by VALEO captured Knowledge (checks and rules) Generic associative system template Easy to use automated 3D system design Business Impacts Productivity : Reduce Wiper System development time by reusing smart catalogs. Reactivity : Anticipate customer changes ( windshield or car body) and to offer customers more options. Asset creation : Knowledge Captured and shared to ensure quality and assist designers.

Product Lifecycle Management

Success Stories
KREBS Engineers
Intelligent Master Model for Cyclone and Cyclone Manifold Systems Rules Generate Design and Propagate Changes Based on Technological Performance Specifications Automated Validation Process with embedded Checks Business Impacts Productivity : Entire Manifold System Created in under an hour. "15 times Faster than Previous Methods" Reactivity : Design driven only by Key inputs provided by Sales Engineers. Asset creation : Knowledge Captured and shared as a reference.

Product Lifecycle Management