Multi-User CAx Revision Management via Timestamps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current CAx software is limited to a single-user paradigm, restricting simultaneous editing and lacking effective revision management, which complicates collaboration and conflict resolution in component design.
Innovation Solution
A multi-user CAx environment with a timestamp tool, revision database, history lookup module, forking module, and database management module that allows multiple users to collaborate, apply timestamps to revisions, manage parallel revision histories, and consolidate database entries, enabling real-time visualization and conflict resolution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If CAx software is restricted to a single-user paradigm, then file access control is simple, but collaboration efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the monolithic file access control into distributed timestamp-based revision management. Each user receives timestamped revisions independently, allowing parallel access without centralized locking, thus improving collaboration efficiency while maintaining manageable system complexity through decentralized control
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a temporal dimension (timestamps) to the traditional file access model. Instead of managing user access through spatial/temporal exclusivity (single user at a time), the system uses timestamped versions to enable multiple users to work simultaneously on different revisions, resolving the contradiction between collaboration efficiency and system complexity
2Productivity
If multiple users can access the same file simultaneously, then collaboration efficiency improves, but conflict resolution complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by assigning timestamps to revisions before conflicts occur. This preemptive timestamping creates an inherent ordering and identification system that simplifies conflict resolution, as the system can automatically identify which revision is newer based on timestamps without requiring complex conflict detection algorithms
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by creating timestamped copies of the part file for each revision. Instead of managing complex conflict resolution for a single shared file, the system maintains multiple copied versions with timestamps, allowing users to work on copies while the original remains intact, thereby improving collaboration while reducing conflict resolution complexity
3Loss of information
If revision history is maintained for all users, then traceability improves, but database size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential revision information (timestamps and revision identifiers) from the full part file history. By storing minimal metadata rather than complete revision copies, the system maintains excellent traceability while keeping the database size manageable, effectively separating the traceability function from the storage burden
Data Source
AI summary
A system for collaborating on a component includes a computing device having a memory and a processor, the computing device configured to execute a first multi-user CAx environment, a data module configured to access data corresponding to a component design having at least one feature corresponding to a group of feature types from at least one current state database in a memory storage device, and a time stamp tool included in the multi-user CAx environment and configured to cause at least one computing device executing the multi-user CAx environment to apply a timestamp to each revision of a part model and save each revision including the timestamp to a revision database.