Expert systems in engineering design: an application for injection molding of plastic parts

The rich development environments of expert system shells provide tools for developing knowledge-based expert systems for complex tasks such as engineering design. The diverse knowledge in engineering design combines heuristics with deterministic knowledge, from multiple sources, and involves complicated, interrelated components. The hybrid capabilities in emerging expert system tools effectively address this diverse knowledge, and facilitate the rapid development of design aids by the engineering designer. A prototype expert system for injection-molded plastic parts demonstrates the utility of expert systems for design applications. The prototype is implemented in an object-oriented, rule-based environment, and incorporates solid modeling software and external material databases.     

用面向对象方法开发专家系统的研究

面向对象方法是一种新的专家系统设计范例，本文以Ｂ超诊断专家系统为例，探讨用面向对象方法开发专家系统的问题。     

Advisory expert system for flexible pavement design

The adoption of an expert system approach to flexible pavement design could be especially useful, because of the complexity of the design algorithm involving numerous possible combinations of pavement material types and traffic data, and the heavy reliance on empirical correlations, which can vary from one region or state to another. This paper describes the development of an advisory expert system for flexible pavement design that attempts to mimic the design process of pavement engineering specialists. The highly interactive microcomputer expert system was developed, using an expert system shell.     

A hierarchical expert system for computer process control

This paper reports on the design and implementation of an expert system for computer process control (HESCPC). The complexity of the expertise necessary for computer process control applications requires that the expert system architecture be structured into a hierarchy of classes of specialized experts. The architecture of HESCPC integrates four classes of expert systems: operator/manager companion expert class, control system algorithm design expert class, hardware expert class, and software expert class. The paper is concerned with the design and implementation of the general system architecture, an operator adviser expert for a nuclear power plant and a control system designer expert using a state space feedback approach. Although the design and implementation aspects of all experts are discussed, the emphasis is on the latter.

At this stage of the HESCPC development, the declarative knowledge represented by 423 metarules and 1261 rules is distributed on a hierarchical structure among 20 experts on different levels of the hierarchy which are able to communicate among themselves to solve difficult control problems.

Examples of control system design sessions of linear mono and multivariable systems using feedback state space approach are given. A run time of an operator-adviser data-driven expert system for a nuclear plant is also presented.     

An expert system on design of liquid-retaining structures with blackboard architecture

Abstract: The design of liquid‐retaining structures involves many decisions to be made by the designer based on rules of thumb, heuristics, judgement, codes of practice and previous experience. Structural design problems are often ill structured and there is a need to develop programming environments that can incorporate engineering judgement along with algorithmic tools. Recent developments in artificial intelligence have made it possible to develop an expert system that can provide expert advice to the user in the selection of design criteria and design parameters. This paper introduces the development of an expert system in the design of liquid‐retaining structures using blackboard architecture. An expert system shell, Visual Rule Studio, is employed to facilitate the development of this prototype system. It is a coupled system combining symbolic processing with traditional numerical processing. The expert system developed is based on British Standards Code of Practice BS8007. Explanations are made to assist inexperienced designers or civil engineering students to learn how to design liquid‐retaining structures effectively and sustainably in their design practices. The use of this expert system in disseminating heuristic knowledge and experience to practitioners and engineering students is discussed.     

EXPMUL: an expert system for the design of multivariable control systems

The development of an expert system environment for the design of M1MO control systems using the frequency response approach is discussed. The aim is to provide assistance for non-experienced designers so that they can learn and gain experience of a specific area of control system theory. As a preliminary, we discuss the different configurations of expert systems used in control system design. The design heuristic is then declared, and followed by a comprehensive example. The implementation of our expert system is then illustrated, and a detailed application is also given.     

Automated knowledge acquisition for the surface-mount PWB assembly domain

The development of knowledge-based (or expert) systems for the surface-mount printed wiring board (PWB) assembly domain requires the understanding and regulation of several complex tasks. While the knowledge base in an expert system serves as a storehouse of knowledge primitives, its design and development is a bottleneck in the expert system development life-cycle. Therefore the development of an automated knowledge acquisition (KA) facility (or KA tool) would facilitate the implementation of expert systems for any domain. This paper describes an automated KA tool that helps to elicit and store information in domain-specific knowledge bases for surface-mount PWB assembly. A salient feature of this research is the acquisition of uncertain information.     

ICADS: Intelligent Car Audio Design System for product planning

This paper describes the development of a system, ICADS (Intelligent Car Audio Design System), that can be used to effectively support product development engineers in car audio product design. We have demonstrated the use of expert system technology and the technique of quality function deployment (QFD) in supporting car audio design planning. QFD is applied as a knowledge acquisition method in this study to support car audio design teams in the development of products in a structured way that relates market demand via engineering specifications to parts specifications. We believe that other industries can use a similar approach for developing an expert system that can support product design planning.     

The design process of expert systems development: some concerns

Abstract: A discussion is presented of why some expert systems that organizations have developed are not successful. The concept of design process plays a very significant role at the outset of the expert system development process. This concept has not been the subject of much debate and attention in expert systems development. From the author's point of view, one of the main issues is how the designer (knowledge engineer) thinks about the design process. In general, the designer's process is influenced by the knowledge engineer's conception. This paper endeavors to disclose some of the main factors related to the knowledge engineer's conception of the design process and an attempt is made to put forward a conceptual model of the expert system design process. This conceptual model is an initial step towards a successful implementation of expert system projects.     

An expert system for the selection of software design patterns

Abstract: This paper describes the development of a prototype expert system for the selection of design patterns that are used in object-oriented software. Design patterns provide one method of software reuse, which supports the goal of improved software development productivity. The prototype system represents an initial step towards providing an automated solution regarding the design pattern application problem, i.e. leading a designer to a suitable design pattern which is applicable to the problem at hand. The feasibility of using expert system technology to aid in the selection problem is demonstrated.     

Designing wire-rope-based mechanical systems in an expert system environment

This paper presents concepts related to the development of an expert system suitable for wire-rope-based mechanical system design. The design of mechanical systems with wire ropes, involving the selection of a wire rope and its supporting structure, is currently accomplished by implementing a cataloged solution for the given application and is typically performed without benefit of detailed analysis. For the most part, resulting systems reflect the wire rope engineer's preferences and experience with various wire rope configurations and designs. The current study presents concepts for an expert systems approach to the design problem that utilizes recently developed, detailed wire rope analysis capabilities. Thus the expert system not only incorporates the expertise in the form of rules but also interacts with analysis packages for design development. It is believed that wire rope systems designed in this manner may prove less costly to manufacture and have lifetimes exceeding those currently specified for most applications.     

Knowledge engineering in the computer-aided design of control systems

Abstract: MAID is an expert system for the computer-aided design of control systems. It is developed in conjunction with the successful application of a systematic control system design technique. The design problem has been decomposed into sub-problems, resulting in good modularity of design knowledge. Interactive design and the designer's intuition are emphasized. MAID, which acts as a designer's assistant, was developed using the expert systems development facility provided within a control system design package. The coupling of symbolic and numerical processing was carried out in a natural way.     

甘蔗收获机械可视化虚拟设计平台的研究开发

介绍了甘蔗收获机械可视化虚拟集成设计平台研究开发的基本思路。该平台的构建通过STEP标准建立产品开发的全局共享信息模型，利用PDM软件集成和封装CAD／CAE及其它产品设计过程中用到的应用软件；平台也集成了甘蔗收获机械设计、分析和评价专家系统，专家系统采用模糊评价的方法对开发过程设计和仿真分析的结果进行评价和决策。集成平台支持甘蔗收获机械可视化虚拟产品集成化的团队设计及收获机械系列化产品开发。     

Application of a cascade BAM neural expert system to conceptual design for facility layout

The major contribution of this novel application is the pilot development and feasibility study for a bank of cascade BAM (Bidirectional Associative Memories) neural networks. This improved BAM structure functions as an expert system for conceptual facility layout or for preliminary construction layout design. This application, rather than being a better analytical algorithm or a better production expert system, builds a neural expert system with the capability of incrementally learning layout design examples for a given set of constraints. The cascade BAM incremental learning methodology, which distinguishes this system from the more frequently used Backpropagation Network (BPN) learning system, creates effective multibidirectional generalization behavior from qualitative, goal-driven layout design experience. The initial tests of learnability are presented by its applicability to conceptual layout design problems, and their solutions are assessed and compared with the learning ability of a standard BAM. Issues deserving further investigation are addressed as well.     

A knowledge sorting process for a product design expert system

Knowledge sorting is one way to organize the knowledge acquired from the domain expert(s) and various sources. Well-organized knowledge representation will make rule extraction much easier. This paper describes a knowledge sorting process that was developed to facilitate the rule extraction for a product design expert system. The process capitalizes on the relationships between design attributes and factors, dependent and independent variables, and consists of three stages: identification of knowledge sources, generation of taxonomic trees, and organization of acquired knowledge. An example applies the sorting process to the development of an expert system for the design of wood head golf clubs.     

The design and implementation of intelligent systems for structural integrity assessment

Recently there have been considerable advances in the development of systems for structural integrity measurement together with the inferential techniques and methods. Many of these systems have used first-generation expert system assumptions, resulting in systems which are incompatible and difficult to adapt or maintain. It is argued that complex intelligent systems can only be developed by a modular approach. Cooperating expert system design methodologies fulfil the design criteria.     

A rule-based expert system approach to process selection for cast components

A knowledge-based expert system at the discretion of casting product designers can be employed as a real-time expert advisor to assist product designers to achieve the correct casting design and select the most appropriate casting process for a given component. This paper proposes a rule-based expert system approach for casting process selection, and describes an ongoing rule prototype development. The system in its present development state consists of five interconnected levels each concerning a particular process selection parameter or group of parameters including alloy to be cast, casting geometric features, casting accuracy, production quantity and overall comparative costs. The system progressively evaluates the user's specifications against the capabilities of various casting processes and in each level selects the processes that satisfy the design parameters specified. The final comparative cost level compares the processes that have satisfied all the criteria in the previous levels and recommends the most economical option.     

EXMAS—Knowledge based system for maintenance of complex mechanical systems

EXMAS is a Knowledge Based System for Integrated System Maintenance Complex Mechanical System (EXMAS being an abbreviation for: Expert Maintenance System). It is part of a complex DESIGNER expert system, which is currently under development at the Department for Production Engineering Department of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Belgrade.The theoretical approach for the DESIGNER expert system is the theory of automata applying artificial intelligence tools. The knowledge block is introduced as a structure of the man-machine cybernetic entity.Basic engineering activities in the integrated system of maintenance are: computer aided design for maintenance, computer aided maintenance technology design, and computer aided maintenance planning and control. This paper gives several parts of this expert system.     

NUREST:一个实时专家系统开发工具

对实时专家系统的特点作了概要论述,将专家系统技术和实时控制技术相结合,设计并实现了应用于实时问题求解的实时专家系统开发工具NUREST。主要讨论了它的知识表示、实时控制机制、推理机制以及实现技术,并给出了开发的炼钢控制实时专家系统实例。