Service-Oriented Architecture Based Dockside Container Crane CAD/CAE Integration System

Dockside container cranes are well-known for their complex structure and thus many factors to be considered in their development. A service-oriented architecture based CAD/CAE system for dockside container crane is proposed in this paper. First, customers provide specifications of the cranes to designers through Browser/Server (B/S) based user requirement input interfaces. Second, designers parametrically model the cranes through 3D CAD platform, and CAE analysts conduct explicit dynamic Finite Element Analysis (FEA) on the designed crane structure. CAD and CAE function modules are accomplished through Client/Server (C/S) architecture. Next, based on the high-level web service and lower-level socket communication, a Design-Analysis-Integration (DAI) module is developed to maintain a model consistence between CAD module and CAE module. Then, the design results are displayed to the customers through B/S mechanism. Last, the SQL-Server based crane product database used to support the whole design and analysis processes is discussed. Since all the operations are conducted through internet/intranet and service-oriented architecture, customers, designers and analysts are able to participate in the product development processes at different geographical locations.