Constraint-based design using an operational approach

Constraint-based design, which explicitly represents and operates upon constraints, has been recognized as a promising tool for achieving intelligent support of design, particularly the design of mechanical parts or assemblies. It is essential for a constraint-based system to realize the constraint-solving capability. This paper presents an operational approach to constraint solving using incremental feature operations. The approach is based on an operational interpretation of constraints, i.e. the constraint satisfaction is carried out in terms of operations incrementally. A grammatic formalism is used for operational modeling of constraints. Each graph production within a graph grammar corresponds to an operation or a sequence of operations designated for constraint satisfaction that is related to a rule or a procedure. Therefore, a constraint satisfaction process can be represented by a graph grammar parsing process. The operation sequence is planned by graph grammar parsing and invocation of the related rules or procedures. Constraints are then evaluated by invoking the sequenced operations. Features are introduced as higher-level abstractions into the geometric constraints network. This enables reasoning about design validation from topological and manufacturing views.

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