Drawing Data Attribute Matching for Outsourcing Contractor Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manufacturers face challenges in outsourcing component manufacturing to appropriate fabricators due to the complexity of managing large numbers of drawing data in various formats, leading to difficulties in selecting the right contractor for each component.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that determine the relationship between target drawing data and existing data, extract attributes, and provide record information for displaying suitable outsourcing candidates, using feature extraction and character recognition to facilitate informed decision-making.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If drawing data is managed as image data in PDF format, then the drawing data can be stored and transmitted, but an inexperienced purchasing agent cannot determine to outsource manufacturing to which fabricator based on the drawing data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts attribute information (material, surface treatment, processing method) from the drawing data and presents it separately as structured data. This allows purchasing agents to focus on comparing key attributes without being overwhelmed by the complete drawing data, thereby improving ease of operation while preserving information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the drawing data into multiple components: visual drawing data and extracted attribute data. This segmentation allows the system to present information in manageable portions, enabling inexperienced agents to understand component requirements through structured attribute comparisons rather than overwhelming raw data.
2Productivity
If the number of components required for a certain product is several tens or more, several hundreds or more, or furthermore, several thousands or more, then the product can be fully manufactured, but it is not easy to select an appropriate outsourcing contractor for each of the components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal comparison interface that can handle any number of components by standardizing their attribute representation. The same attribute-based comparison mechanism works whether there are tens or thousands of components, reducing the complexity of contractor selection through consistent, scalable processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically extracts and compares attributes across all components, performing the complex analysis work that would otherwise require manual intervention. This self-service capability allows the system to handle large numbers of components without proportionally increasing operational complexity.
3Ease of manufacture
If drawing data in PDF format is used, then the drawing data can be stored and transmitted, but the drawing data does not include any layer in many cases, making it difficult to extract attribute information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual visual inspection and mechanical attribute extraction with automated optical character recognition (OCR) and image processing algorithms. This substitution enables the system to automatically extract attributes from PDF drawing data without requiring manual intervention, improving ease of manufacture while managing complexity through automation.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of operation of a computer for managing a plurality of pieces of drawing data representing a set of components, includes: determining whether target drawing data included in the plurality of pieces of drawing data is related to existing drawing data that has been already stored; acquiring record information when the record information associated with the existing drawing data is stored in a case in which a result of the determining is affirmative; and transmitting record display information for displaying the record information to a terminal. The determining includes determining whether the existing drawing data represents a component having an attribute identical with an attribute of a component represented by the target drawing data. The attribute represents a material, a surface treatment, a processing method, or a combination of two or more of them.