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Showing papers on "Design tool published in 1987"


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TL;DR: Several different contexts for the development of spreadsheet models are discussed and structured design techniques for these models are presented.
Abstract: Spreadsheet programs and microcomputers have revolutionizedinformation processing in organizations. Users have adoptedspreadsheets to solve problems and circumvent the longdelays encountered in dealing with the traditionalinformation services department. A significant number ofserious errors have been reported through the misuse ofspreadsheet technology. This paper discusses severaldifferent contexts for the development of spreadsheet modelsand presents structured design techniques for these models.The recommended approach to spreadsheet analysis and designencourages the use of a block structure format for theworksheet and introduces Spreadsheet Flow Diagrams as asystems design tool. The objective of this design approachis to reduce the probability and severity of spreadsheeterrors, improve auditability and promote greater longevityfor spreadsheet models.

133 citations


Proceedings Article
13 Jul 1987
TL;DR: The kinds of analysis Prompt performs on beams and how it makes innovative changes to prototypes are described, which show how the system works in the domain of structural design.
Abstract: We describe a system, Prompt, used to design physical systems. Prompt employs a multi-level approach to design. When simple constraint propagation over prototypes [Adda85] fails, Prompt can significantly modify prototypes by reasoning about their structure and physics. Prompt derives the behavior of a prototype from its structure using knowledge of physics stored in a Graph of Models. It then uses heuristics called Modification Operators to control the process of modifying the prototypes. In this paper we describe how our system works in the domain of structural design. We describe the kinds of analysis Prompt performs on beams and how it makes innovative changes to prototypes.

96 citations


Proceedings ArticleDOI
D. J. Neill1
06 Apr 1987
TL;DR: ASTROS (Automated Structural Optimization System) as discussed by the authors is a finite-element-based multidisciplinary structural optimization procedure developed under Air Force sponsorship to perform automated preliminary structural design.
Abstract: ASTROS (Automated Structural Optimization System) is a finite-element-based multidisciplinary structural optimization procedure developed under Air Force sponsorship to perform automated preliminary structural design. The design task is the determination of the structural sizes that provide an optimal structure while satisfying numerous constraints from many disciplines. In addition to its automated design features, ASTROS provides a general transient and frequency response capability, as well as a special feature to perform a transient analysis of a vehicle subjected to a nuclear blast. The motivation for the development of a single multidisciplinary design tool is that such a tool can provide improved structural designs in less time than is currently needed. The role of such a tool is even more apparent as modern materials come into widespread use. Balancing conflicting requirements for the structure's strength and stiffness while exploiting the benefits of material anisotropy is perhaps an impossible task without assistance from an automated design tool. Finally, the use of a single tool can bring the design task into better focus among design team members, thereby improving their insight into the overall task.

66 citations


Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1987
TL;DR: The paper describes a design exercise where postgraduate students used CLG to specify interfaces for a transport timetabling system and then prototyped their designs, and issues encountered are used to demonstrate the problems associated with a top-down design process and indicate additional features which would provide more adequate support for such a process.
Abstract: Approaches to interface design often adopt an analytic method working in a top-down fashion from a task analysis through various levels of detail. Moran has suggested that his Command Language Grammar (CLG) can be used as such a design tool, with the interface specified at four levels and each level providing a complete description of the interface. The paper describes a design exercise where postgraduate students used CLG to specify interfaces for a transport timetabling system and then prototyped their designs. Following a detailed analysis of the CLGs produced, areas of difficulty such as the syntactical structure of CLG, the propagation of initial design problems at lower levels of the grammar and the reliance on complex “downward” mapping across the levels are discussed. Extensions to CLG, including automatic checking of consistency and mapping between levels, and the incremental addition or alteration of CLG structures, are outlined. The issues encountered in the CLG specifications are used to: demonstrate the problems associated with a top-down design process; and indicate additional features which would provide more adequate support for such a process.

22 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is concluded that solid modeling has become a significant new production tool for mechanical design and its functional and performance characteristics as well as requirements for future enhancements are discussed.
Abstract: This paper describes a solid modeling and interactive graphics computer system which is being used for conceptual and detailed design by the mechanical design community at IBM's Data Systems Division Laboratory in Poughkeepsie, New York. The system has evolved from research on solid modeling begun at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center in the mid-70s. Its development has resulted in one of the first major production uses of solid modeling in industry. The system was first tested in pilot and limited production environments in 1981, and is now in production use as the primary design tool for mechanical portions of IBM's large computer mainframes. Its introduction, development, integration, and use are described, and its functional and performance characteristics as well as requirements for future enhancements are discussed. We conclude from our experience that solid modeling has become a significant new production tool for mechanical design.

21 citations


Proceedings ArticleDOI
R. B. Ridley1, Fred C. Lee1
21 Jun 1987
TL;DR: A computer-aided design tool for power converter components that allows a designer with a minimum of programming and optimization experience to interface with nonlinear optimization routines.
Abstract: A computer-aided design tool for power converter components is described. This tool allows a designer with a minimum of programming and optimization experience to interface with nonlinear optimization routines. Realistic design values and available vendor components can be incorporated in a design without using an extensive data base program structure.1

19 citations


Proceedings ArticleDOI
01 Dec 1987
TL;DR: STARS⋆CELL, a PC-based simulator for the design and evaluation of flexible manufacturing cell (FMC) flow line systems, and the effects of various design variables on cell performance.
Abstract: This paper discusses STARsCELL, a PC-based simulator for the design and evaluation of flexible manufacturing cell (FMC) flow line systems. As a design tool, STARsCELL aids in determining the ideal number of machines, number and assignment of operators, and the size of inter-workstation buffers. The menu-driven simulator also assists in evaluating the impact on cell performance of Just-in-Time (JIT) factors, changes in product mix and demands, and different user-specified job input sequences. The paper provides numerical results for a gear workcell example to illustrate the effects of various design variables on cell performance. A brief discussion of the development, applications, advantages, and limitations of STARsCELL is also presented.

12 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: The Overdrive (Overlay Design heuRIstic adVisEr) system as discussed by the authors is a set of expert system tools for the analysis and design of highway pavement rehabilitation strategies.
Abstract: Described is the development of an initial prototype expert system to assist local engineers in designing the structural thickness of asphalt concrete pavement overlays. The system is called OVERDRIVE (OVERlay Design heuRIstic adVisEr) and is part of ongoing research at the University of California, Irvine, that is developing an integrated set of expert system tools for the analysis and design of highway pavement rehabilitation strategies. The paper provides an overview of expert systems concepts and overlay thickness design methods. A discussion of the OVERDRIVE system follows, including the main components of the first prototype, Version 1.1. It is concluded that a knowledge-based approach to pavement overlay design is feasible and, even in prototype form, OVERDRIVE is a potentially useful tool for local highway engineers. Ongoing research will refine and expand the knowledge base and user interface of OVERDRIVE to enhance its performance as an expert design tool.

11 citations


Proceedings ArticleDOI
31 May 1987
TL;DR: Initial experience with ENGINEOUS indicates that it is a powerful design tool which quickly identifies non-obvious solutions balanced for conflicting multiple goals in a small number of iterations which vary linearly with the number of variables.
Abstract: A new approach is evaluated for the design of turbomachinery components using existing analysis codes coupled to a generic Artificial Intelligence (AI) software framework called ENGINEOUS. This AI framework uses intelligent search techniques with a small set of basic component design rules to iterate to an optimized solution and to quantify parameter trade-offs. Initial experience with ENGINEOUS indicates that it is a powerful design tool which quickly identifies non-obvious solutions balanced for conflicting multiple goals in a small number of iterations which vary linearly with the number of variables. The solution path and driving logic are easily visible to the designer and a parameter study option can rapidly quantify potential design trade-offs which together allow a critique of the selected design to balance performance against development risks. Because this AI design approach fosters intelligent interface with the designer and is generic, the potential application areas and productivity benefits appear enormous.Copyright © 1987 by ASME

9 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: Early use of wind tunnel tests is also a safety check for bridges with very long spans that have the potential for instability during construction stages as discussed by the authors, which can be tested for stability.
Abstract: Wind tunnel tests are being used increasingly to test the aerodynamic stability of bridges. Many designers think these tests should be used early in the conceptual design stage, rather than after design is complete. The tests should be a design tool, rather than an aerodynamic check after the fact. For the Annacis Island cable-stayed bridge in Canada, wind tunnel tests were used early to refine the design for the best aerodynamic stability. The resulting refinements used 20% less steel than the original concept and thus reduced costs for the bridge, the world's longest span cable-stay. Early use of wind tunnel tests are also a safety check for bridges with very long spans that have the potential for instability during construction stages. Tiedowns and construction sequences can be tested for stability. There are two types of wind tunnel tests: aeroelastic, in which the entire bridge is modeled to scale, and section model tests, which are far less complex and costly. Increasingly, the aeroelastic tests are being used, but many designers think mathematical models for section tests are improving. As more research is done, designers will be able to make better use of this tool.

9 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The OPTDEX (Optimal Design Expert) as discussed by the authors is a hybrid symbolic-numeric system for the optimal design of mechanical components and systems written in Golden Common LISP and IBM Professional (Ryan-McFarland) FORTRAN for execution on the IBM PC/AT microcomputer.
Abstract: A hybrid symbolic-numeric system, referred to as OPTDEX, (Optimal Design Expert) for the optimal design of mechanical components and systems has been developed. The system is written in Golden Common LISP and IBM Professional (Ryan-McFarland) FORTRAN for execution on the IBM PC/AT microcomputer. Graphical output has been implemented using the Graphical Kernal System (GKS) standard. This microcomputer-based implementation makes the system particularly attractive as an easily accessible, low-cost engineering analysis and design tool.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Sep 1987
TL;DR: A computer-based tool which provides a quantitative analysis of the ergonomic quality of a control panel layout has been created and four graphical metrics for the overall and functional design levels are included as part of the design tool.
Abstract: In the use of control panels for the automotive industry, consistency and usability are of major importance. General qualitative guidelines exist for the designer, but there is currently a lack of quantitative human factors data for control panel designs. A state of the art design tool which provides the designer with ergonomic usability guidelines and structure is needed. As part of the current research, a computer-based tool which provides a quantitative analysis of the ergonomic quality of a control panel layout has been created. This tool is a tailored Auto-CAD1 program for the IBM PC2 which provides features to encourage consistency and structure in the design of control panel layouts. Extending the work by Tullis (1983) on alphanumeric display metrics, four graphical metrics for the overall and functional design levels are included as part of the design tool. These metrics are: 1) Overall Density - ratio of free space to occupied space, 2) Local Density - how closely placed the design entities are t...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the numerical solution of a 3D large angle model of a static underbuoy hose system was developed for both the Lazy-S and Chinese Lantern systems, dealing with large discontinuities which arise due to the presence of buoyancy floats, drag chains and flanges.

Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1987
TL;DR: A design tool for interactive programs, DIADES, is described in this article, where the approach for design assessment employing an expert system will be highlighted The concept of menu is used as an example.
Abstract: A design tool for interactive programs, DIADES, presently under development will be described In the paper, the approach for design assessment employing an expert system will be highlighted The concept “menu” is used as an example

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Experience with the OPTDEX system indicates that the time required to achieve, at least, partially optimized engineering design solutions is similar to that which may be expected with standard, nonoptimization-based, microcomputer computation.
Abstract: A hybrid (symbolic-numeric) system, referred to as OPTDEX, (OPTIMAL DESIGN EXPERT) for the optimal design or mechanical components and systems has been developed. The system is written in Golden Common LISP and IBM Professional (Ryan-McFarland) FORTRAN for execution on the IBM PC/AT microcomputer. Graphical output has been implemented using the Graphical Kernel System (GKS) standard. This microcomputer-based implementation makes the system particularly attractive as an easily accessible, low cost engineering analysis and design tool. Experience with the system indicates that the time required to achieve, at least, partially optimized engineering design solutions is similar to that which may be expected with standard, nonoptimization-based, microcomputer computation. Any added computational time may be justified and subsequently offset by increased long term design efficacy.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Criteria is an interactive computer-aided control systems design package based on Zakian's criteria that embodies a number of simple yet effective algorithms and forms an efficient design tool that has been successfully applied to many engineering problems.
Abstract: Criteria is an interactive computer-aided control systems design package based on Zakian's criteria. The package embodies a number of simple yet effective algorithms and forms an efficient design tool that has been successfully applied to many engineering problems. The package also offers facilities for computer-aided teaching of control systems design and provides a powerful program base for advanced research. The development of the package is described, with a short overview of the theory, algorithms and applications.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: CODAR is a software tool for the design of engineering expert systems that combines both deductive reasoning and abductive reasoning with the inclusion of both thresholding and probability as uncertainty models.

Proceedings ArticleDOI
01 Dec 1987
TL;DR: A design system shell which can be used to experiment with principles of design and be used as a design tool where complex layers of information need to be specified about objects, such as in database design is presented.
Abstract: We present a design system shell which can be used to experiment with principles of design and be used as a design tool where complex layers of information need to be specified about objects, such as in database design. The shell can be tailored to a variety of application areas. It is object-oriented in its implementation and structure. Objects and messages are used as the specification language. The basic ingredients of a rule-based production system are provided, with rules treated as objects and defined independently of the classes to which they are applied.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A flexible, user-friendly and low-cost computer-aided design tool is available to designers, solving all but the most specialized problems.
Abstract: The following discussion considers computer-aided mechanism design in terms of the practical designer's concern — cost effectiveness. Applied design philosophy is reviewed to examine various types of software, both traditional and innovative. The situation of small/medium companies considering acquisition of such software is primarily addressed. The development of the ‘Subroutine Package’ approach is described and its merits compared to conventional general purpose software packages. A subroutine package approach to mechanism design, considers a system to be composed of a limited number of constituent elements. Each subroutine in a package models the behaviour of such an element. An example, which has been developed, is the Linkage Analysis Package (LAP), and an example of its use is given. The user writes a simple (Fortran) calling program to input/output data and call the appropriate subroutines. This represents a ‘self-customized’ interface that is inherently highly cost effective. As the design problem changes, the same interface may be used after limited modification and reselection of the necessary subroutines. Thus a flexible, user-friendly and low-cost computer-aided design tool is available to designers, solving all but the most specialized problems.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An intelligent knowledge base system for heat stress evaluation is described and can be used either as a stand along design tool or as one of the lower level models for larger ergonomic expert systems such as ALFIE.

01 Jan 1987
TL;DR: In the last decade, the field of Computer Science has undergone a revolution as mentioned in this paper, which has brought about a number of changes in the way we think of, and work with, the development of software.
Abstract: In the last decade, the field of Computer Science has undergone a revolution. It has started the move from a mysterious art form to a detailed science. The vehicle for this progress has been the rising popularity of the field of Software Engineering. This innovative area of computer science has brought about a number of changes in the way we think of, and work with, the development of software. Due to this renovation, a field that started with little or no design techniques and unstructured, unreliable software has progressed to a point where a plethora of techniques exist to improve the quality of a program design as well as that of the resultant software. The popularity of structured design and coding techniques prove that there is widespread belief that the overall product produced using these ideas is somehow better, and statistics seem to indicate that this belief is true. Until recently, however, there existed no technique for quantitatively showing one program better than its functional equivalent. In the past few years, the use of software quality metrics seems to indicate that such a comparison is not only possible, but is also valid. The advent of Software Engineering has demanded that most universities offer a Software Engineering course which entails a "Real-World" group project. Students participating in the class design a system using a program design language (PDL). Other students then write code from the design and finally the design team integrates the modules into a working system. For a complete description of the class see [HENS83] and [TOMJ87].

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The history of the design tool and how it can be used in today's environment are looked at.
Abstract: Trillium was originally developed at Xerox Parc. A UK company has undertaken a number of software refinements. This paper looks at the history of the design tool and how it can be used in today's environment.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Sep 1987
TL;DR: RAPID simulates the appearance and function of small control panels including commonly-used displays and controls using the Smalltalk-80TM computing environment to support the product development cycle and improving the quality of the human-machine interface.
Abstract: The present paper describes 1) the operation of a software tool for interface prototyping–RAPID–that is designed for software designers and human engineering specialists to use in support of design iteration and experimentation and 2) an application of this prototyping tool in the development of consumer products. RAPID simulates the appearance and function of small control panels including commonly-used displays and controls using the Smalltalk-80TM computing environment. The experience of using the design tool in a product development effort has provided a means of evaluating the success of this approach for supporting the product development cycle and improving the quality of the human-machine interface.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jan 1987
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a CAE tool for automated guided vehicle systems (AGVS) based on CADAM and AutoCad, which supports direct, interactive analysis of the design from within the drafting package.
Abstract: Automated Guided Vehicle Systems (AGVS) are becoming more and more the main material handling devices in flexible manufacturing systems. The design of an AGVS network is a complex, iterative process. It requires a sequence of geometrical layout drawings and an analytical and computational evaluations. The ability to analyze the AGVS design directly and interactively from the layout drawing would substantially increase the productivity of the design engineer. A Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) design tool must provide the following three capabilities. First, it must allow the easy, interactive and graphical definition of the system by providing standard drawing symbols and the required operations on those symbols. Second, it must support direct, interactive analysis of the design from within the drafting package. Third, it must provide for the necessary output to interface with off line simulation, analysis and verification programs. The possibility of extending the prominent CAD packages CADAM and AutoCad to perform CAE of AGVS is examined. A prototype of such a CAE tool has been developed based upon the Autocad package and implemented on a microcomputer. Design and implementation issues, as well as future research areas, will be reported on.

Proceedings ArticleDOI
03 Feb 1987
TL;DR: This panel is the second in a series of panels aimed at discussing different aspects of Engineering Information Systems, and the purpose of this panel is to discuss different implementation approaches that will address these issues.
Abstract: The phenomenal growth in integrated circuit fabrication technology over the last decade has led to the need for a robust, multi-user, integrated design environment for electronic systems. Attempts to develop “integrated” design environments have highlighted the present lack in design tool interoperability. The Very High Speed Integrated Circuits (VHSIC) Program has recognized the importance of integrated design environments for the design of future defense electronic systems and for the insertion of new technologies into existing electronic systems. The VHSIC Program is attempting to ease the task of integrating disparate electronic system design aids by addressing the design tool interoperability problem through the Engineering Information System (EIS) Program. This panel is the second in a series of panels aimed at discussing different aspects of Engineering Information Systems. The first EIS panel, held at SIGMOD '861, discussed the major issues confronting the implementation of an EIS. The purpose of this panel is to discuss different implementation approaches that will address these issues.

Journal ArticleDOI
G A Scott1
01 Apr 1987
TL;DR: In this paper, the development of a theoretical technique based on the finite element method is described from initial conception through to a production design tool, together with its application to typical vehicle structures.
Abstract: The development of a theoretical technique, based on the finite element method, is described from initial conception through to a production design tool, together with its application to typical vehicle structures.

01 Jan 1987
TL;DR: This dissertation deals with several issues in the design of backbone networks by developing models for the cost effective routing of messages and selection of link capacities in the network, and using new modeling and solution techniques.
Abstract: This dissertation deals with several issues in the design of backbone networks. Models for the cost effective routing of messages and selection of link capacities in the network are developed. Since the models obey a single philosophy, namely the formalization of the tradeoffs existing between the system costs and the costs associated with the level of performance achieved by a given design, together they form a coherent design tool. The novelty of the approach consists in the inclusion of economic aspects that explicitly express the cost-performance tradeoffs, and in using new modeling and solution techniques. First, the problem of routing and capacity assignment is discussed. A mathematical model, that simultaneously captures both aspects of the problem is developed. Lower bounds and heuristic procedures are suggested. From the results of computational experiments it is concluded that the algorithm is both efficient in terms of its speed of convergence, and effective in identifying robust solutions to the problem. The implicit assumption, common to most of the work done in the field, that all the messages in the network are identical in terms of their characteristics and service requirements is dropped in the following chapter. A group of related models dealing with the flow and capacity assignment in networks that support different classes of messages is presented. Lower and upper bounding procedures are imbedded in a fast converging algorithm that succeeds in generating feasible solutions very close to optimality. The results of the computational experiments clearly evidence the impact that distinguishing between the different types of messages has on the characteristics of the final solutions. The last chapter concentrates on the cost effective routing of messages in a network with unreliable components. The survey of the existing literature shows that, in spite of its importance, this type of design problem is seldom mentioned, mainly due to its complexity. The model and solution procedure developed in this chapter deal with the simultaneous selection of primary and secondary routes, to be used as backups. A solution procedure for the model is presented and tested in computational experiments.

Proceedings ArticleDOI
01 Oct 1987
TL;DR: The rationale for the EIS program, its goals, and its structure are described, and the program's structure is outlined.
Abstract: The need for a robust, multi-user, integrated design environment for electronic systems is the result of the phenomenal growth in integrated circuit fabrication technology over the last decade. Attempts to develop "integrated" design environments highlight the current lack in design tool interoperability. The Very High Speed Integrated Circuits (VHSIC) program recognizes the importance of integrated design environments for the design of future defense electronic systems and for the insertion of new technologies into existing electronic systems, and is attempting to ease the task of integrating disparate electronic system design aids by addressing the design tool interoperability problem through the Engineering Information System (EIS) program. This paper describes the rationale for the EIS program, highlights its goals, and outlines the program's structure.

01 Jul 1987
TL;DR: This dissertation describes an innovative method for synthesizing error-free prototype integrated circuit masks from a behavioral-level algorithmic specification, intended to meet the needs of a specialized set of problems, namely the design of special-purpose computing circuits.
Abstract: This dissertation describes an innovative method for synthesizing error-free prototype integrated circuit masks from a behavioral-level algorithmic specification. The designer expresses algorithms and data types without having to specify a layout for their implementation or having to rely on time-consuming methods to obtain an implementation. The layout of the designed circuit is not explicitly specified by the designer, and it is determined from the algorithmic description. The circuits are produced quickly, but not necessarily as compactly as can be done with exhaustive, time-consuming, automatic or manual techniques. The circuits produced are properly formed (i.e. obey the fabrication design rules) so non-behavioral attributes such as area, speed, and power can be estimated directly from these designs. When the data types in a design are changed, different operators corresponding to the new types are utilized and the non-behavioral attributes of the resulting circuit change. Comparisons of these attributes are the basis for choosing one design over others. This method of designing digital circuits is intended to meet the needs of a specialized set of problems, namely the design of special-purpose computing circuits. Such circuits typically are non-standard designs which require many iterations in the design process to obtain a cost-effective design. Therefore a rapid-prototyping design method, mapping algorithms given at a high level into circuit structures is highly desirable. This work is motivated by these needs and attempts to provide such a design tool.

01 Jan 1987
TL;DR: Flexible voice recognition units provide an opportunity to prototype speech dialogues for proposed products or services to investigate the design of speech-based interfaces employing behavioural experimentation to quantify the effects on user attitude and performance of variations in interface design.
Abstract: Flexible voice recognition units are currently available as an add-on for popular microcomputers. These systems provide an opportunity to prototype speech dialogues for proposed products or services. This type of prototype can be useful in two ways. Firstly, to investigate the design of speech-based interfaces employing behavioural experimentation to quantify the effects on user attitude and performance of variations in interface design. Secondly, as a focus for discussion and informal evaluation within a design project producing a specific product or service.