A large aircraft contains thousands of transport elements, such as tubes, ducts, and wires. Their shape is subject to many constraints, some extrinsic (e.g., obstacle clearance) and others intrinsic (e.g., legal bend angles). A key problem is to design a feasible route that is optimal (e.g., as short as possible). We present an algorithm specialized for metal tubing that allows the user to sketch a route using constraint objects. The user arranges the constraint objects and the system fills in an optimal tube. Trade-offs can be explored rapidly, in terms of quantities of direct engineering interest. This effectively automates a tedious manual design process, saving time and money and producing superior designs. The algorithm has been implemented and tested in a production environment.
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December 2002
Technical Papers
Constraint-Based Design of Optimal Transport Elements
Michael Drumheller
Michael Drumheller
The Boeing Company, Mathematics and Computing Technology, P.O. Box 3707, M/S 7L-40, Seattle, WA, 98124
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Michael Drumheller
The Boeing Company, Mathematics and Computing Technology, P.O. Box 3707, M/S 7L-40, Seattle, WA, 98124
Contributed by the Computer Aided Product Development (CAPD) Committee for publication in the JOURNAL OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCE IN ENGINEERING. Manuscript received Sept. 2002; Revised Dec. 2002. Associate Editor: K. Lee and N. Patrikalakis
J. Comput. Inf. Sci. Eng. Dec 2002, 2(4): 302-311 (10 pages)
Published Online: March 26, 2003
Article history
Received:
September 1, 2002
Revised:
December 1, 2002
Online:
March 26, 2003
Citation
Drumheller, M. (March 26, 2003). "Constraint-Based Design of Optimal Transport Elements ." ASME. J. Comput. Inf. Sci. Eng. December 2002; 2(4): 302–311. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1554698
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