Design Graph for Unified Part Library Management

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Designers face challenges in organizing and locating design parts across multiple platforms due to inconsistencies in naming and storage, leading to duplication and subtle differences in electronic representations that are not realized until physical production, making it difficult to find specific parts efficiently.

Innovation Solution

A Design Graph is created through mining customer-generated content anonymously and automatically, representing relationships between design elements, parts, and components, enabling searches based on properties not manually predefined, similar to social or web graphs, and providing sophisticated user interfaces for navigation and exploration.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If parts are stored in different storage systems with inconsistent naming, then parts can be acquired from multiple sources, but locating a particular part becomes difficult and duplication occurs

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveparts acquisition from multiple sourcesVSAvoidlocating parts

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges multiple scattered storage systems into a unified part library with consistent naming conventions. By consolidating parts from different sources into a single organized repository, the system maintains adaptability for acquiring parts from multiple sources while dramatically improving ease of locating parts through unified access and standardized identification.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The part library is designed as a universal system that can accommodate parts from multiple sources and platforms simultaneously. It provides multi-functional capabilities including consistent naming, cross-platform compatibility, and centralized management, allowing the same system to serve diverse part acquisition needs while maintaining ease of operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Adaptability or versatility

If multiple electronic representations of the same part are created, then design flexibility is increased, but subtle differences are not realized until physical production

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedesign flexibilityVSAvoidpart consistency

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements feedback mechanisms where each part in the library maintains a canonical reference version. When parts are accessed or modified, the system provides feedback to ensure consistency with the canonical version, allowing design flexibility while preventing subtle differences that would compromise manufacturing precision.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The patent establishes canonical part definitions and consistent naming conventions in advance, before production occurs. By pre-defining the authoritative version of each part and setting up validation rules beforehand, the system enables design flexibility during the design phase while ensuring manufacturing precision is maintained through pre-established consistency checks.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If designers recreate parts due to inability to locate them, then part availability is ensured, but duplication across the organization increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepart availabilityVSAvoidpart duplication

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The part library is designed as a self-service system where designers can independently locate and access any part through consistent naming and organized storage. By providing intuitive search and access mechanisms, the system eliminates the need for designers to recreate parts, ensuring part availability while preventing duplication through self-service access to the centralized library.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

4Stability of the object's composition

If manual organization of parts is performed, then naming consistency can be maintained, but time and resources are consumed

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenaming consistencyVSAvoidorganization time

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces manual mechanical organization processes with automated computational systems. Software algorithms automatically enforce consistent naming conventions, organize parts into the library, and maintain relationships between parts. This substitution of automated digital mechanisms for manual processes maintains naming consistency while dramatically reducing the time and resources required.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS10296626B2Graph

Publication Date: 2019.05.21 AUTODESK INC

AI summary

A method, apparatus, system, and computer program product provide the ability to define an attribute of a design part in a manufacturing or construction project. Apart set of two or more design parts is obtained. Each of the two or more design parts includes metadata. An external corpus is mined to determine a text set of terms relevant to the metadata. The metadata is mined for a pattern based on the text set to discover a metadata property. An attribute is defined based on the metadata property. A graphical user interface is used to search for design parts utilizing a filter based on the metadata property.