Fuzzy Representation and Synthesis of Concepts in Engineering Design

In the present paper a new mathematical fuzzy-logic-based formulation of the design objects and the rules that govern a design problem during the conceptual design phase is presented.. A procedure for the automatic generation of degrees of satisfaction of the design specifications for each feasible solution - subjected to design constraints - is introduced. A table containing the satisfaction degrees is used for the derivation of the set of all possible synthesized solutions. The determination of this set, which is a subset of the set of the synthesised solutions, is based on a suitable partition of the Euclidean space. An illustrative example of a knowledge based system for the conceptual design of grippers for handling fabrics is presented. The advantages of this model are revealed via a comparison with previous implementations of the conceptual design phase based on crisp production rules or certainty factors.

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