Evaluating FuncSION: A software for automated synthesis of design solutions for stimulating ideation during mechanical conceptual design

Abstract The goal of the work reported in this paper is to use automated, combinatorial synthesis to generate alternative solutions to be used as stimuli by designers for ideation. FuncSION, a computational synthesis tool that can automatically synthesize solution concepts for mechanical devices by combining building blocks from a library, is used for this purpose. The objectives of FuncSION are to help generate a variety of functional requirements for a given problem and a variety of concepts to fulfill these functions. A distinctive feature of FuncSION is its focus on automated generation of spatial configurations, an aspect rarely addressed by other computational synthesis programs. This paper provides an overview of FuncSION in terms of representation of design problems, representation of building blocks, and rules with which building blocks are combined to generate concepts at three levels of abstraction: topological, spatial, and physical. The paper then provides a detailed account of evaluating FuncSION for its effectiveness in providing stimuli for enhanced ideation.

[1]  Hamilton Horth Mabie,et al.  Mechanisms and Dynamics of Machinery , 1963 .

[2]  Amaresh Chakrabarti,et al.  Transforming Functional Solutions into Physical Solutions , 1999 .

[3]  田口 玄一,et al.  Introduction to quality engineering : designing quality into products and processes , 1986 .

[4]  Patrick Langdon,et al.  Browsing a large solution space in breadth and depth , 1999 .

[5]  Amaresh Chakrabarti,et al.  Assessing design creativity , 2011 .

[6]  Amaresh Chakrabarti,et al.  An approach to functional synthesis of solutions in mechanical conceptual design. Part III: Spatial configuration , 1996 .

[7]  Amaresh Chakrabarti,et al.  An approach to functional synthesis of mechanical design Concepts: Theory, applications, and emerging research issues , 1996, Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing.

[8]  Shean Juinn Chiou,et al.  Automated conceptual design of mechanisms , 1999 .

[9]  Amaresh Chakrabarti,et al.  DEFINING AND SUPPORTING DESIGN CREATIVITY , 2006 .

[10]  Hong-Sen Yan,et al.  An approach for the enumeration of combined configurations of kinematic building blocks , 2005 .

[11]  Brigitte Moench,et al.  Engineering Design A Systematic Approach , 2016 .

[12]  Amaresh Chakrabarti,et al.  Generating conceptual solutions on FuncSION: evolution of a functional synthesiser , 1996 .

[13]  Amaresh Chakrabarti,et al.  An approach to functional synthesis of solutions in mechanical conceptual design. Part II: Kind synthesis , 1996 .

[14]  Vishal Singh,et al.  A method for structure sharing to enhance resource effectiveness , 2007 .

[15]  Chung-lun Li,et al.  A configuration space approach to the automatic design of multiple-state mechanical devices , 1999, Comput. Aided Des..

[16]  Callie Berliner,et al.  Cost Management for Today's Advanced Manufacturing: The Cam-I Conceptual Design , 1988 .

[17]  Jane M. Mackay,et al.  Creativity in the organization: the role of individual creative problem solving and computer support , 2001, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[18]  K. W. Chan,et al.  A qualitative and heuristic approach to the conceptual design of mechanisms , 1996 .

[19]  A. Chakrabarti,et al.  Investigating novelty–outcome relationships in engineering design , 2010, Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing.

[20]  Carolyn M. Callahan,et al.  Fluency, Flexibility, and Originality as a Function of Group Size , 1974 .

[21]  Tamotsu Murakami,et al.  Mechanism Concept Retrieval Using Configuration Space. , 1994 .

[22]  Erik Kaestner,et al.  The Mechanical Design Process , 2016 .

[23]  Amaresh Chakrabarti,et al.  A design research methodology , 1995 .

[24]  Amaresh Chakrabarti,et al.  An approach to functional synthesis of solutions in mechanical conceptual design. Part I: Introduction and knowledge representation , 1994 .

[25]  Chung-lun. Li,et al.  Conceptual design of single and multiple state mechanical devices: an intelligent CAD approach , 1998 .

[26]  U. Lindemann,et al.  Cost-Efficient Design , 2007 .

[27]  Amaresh Chakrabarti,et al.  The effect of representation of triggers on design outcomes , 2008, Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing.

[28]  Amaresh Chakrabarti,et al.  The significance of co-evolving requirements and solutions in the design process , 1997 .

[29]  Ying-Chieh Liu.  A methodology for the generation of concepts in mechanical design , 2000 .

[30]  Amaresh Chakrabarti.  Improving efficiency of procedures for compositional synthesis by using bidirectional search , 2001, Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing.

[31]  Georgi V. Georgiev,et al.  METHOD OF DESIGN THROUGH STRUCTURING OF MEANINGS , 2008 .

[32]  Amaresh Chakrabarti,et al.  Developing Engineering Products Using Inspiration From Nature , 2008, J. Comput. Inf. Sci. Eng..

[33]  Warren P. Seering,et al.  Synthesis of schematic descriptions in mechanical design , 1989 .

[34]  Amaresh Chakrabarti,et al.  Towards a decision-support framework for the embodiment phase of mechanical design , 1992, Artif. Intell. Eng..

[35]  David L. Watson.  Enhancing Creative Productivity with the Fisher Association Lists , 1989 .

[36]  A Chakrabarti.  Designing by functions , 1991 .

[37]  Christian Wagner,et al.  Stimulating ideas through creativity software , 1994 .

[38]  Amaresh Chakrabarti,et al.  A Computational Framework for Concept Generation and Exploration in Mechanical Design , 2000, AID.

[39]  Lawrence F. Young.  The metaphor machine: A database method for creativity support , 1987, Decis. Support Syst..

[40]  Amaresh Chakrabarti,et al.  A New Approach to Structure Sharing , 2004, J. Comput. Inf. Sci. Eng..