Intelligent approaches for generating assembly drawings from 3-D computer models of mechanical products

Abstract

In order to reduce the time of mechanical product design and ensure the high quality of their assembly drawings, this paper develops an intelligent approach for generating assembly drawings automatically from three-dimensional (3-D) computer assembly models of mechanical products by simulating the experienced human designer's thinking mode with the aid of computer graphics and knowledge-based expert system. The key issues include the strategies and methods for selecting the necessary views in an assembly drawing, determining necessary sectional views in each view, eliminating the unreasonable projective overlap of the components in each view, and minimizing the numbers of both the views in an assembly drawing and the sectional views in each view. Based on the approach, corresponding software prototype was developed. Finally, it is demonstrated, from an example of the fixture in a modularized drilling machine, that its assembly drawing was generated successfully using this intelligent software prototype. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.