Research On Product Structure Modeling And Configuration Technology And Its Application

Product structure is one of the most important product information, and it is the bridge of manufacturing information system. In order to deal with the changing market of increasing demand individuation and saving consignment time, the product configuration based on product structure modeling and management is becoming a research hotspot. This paper studies the product structure modeling and configuration on the basis of weighted digraph according to several projects about automobile manufacturing informationization, and has developed a prototype system to validate it. Firstly, a product structure management and configuration system is presented on the basis of analyzing its demand, and some basic theories are discussed concerning about product structure modeling and product configuration. Secondly, a methodology for product structure modeling on the basis of weighted diagraph is proposed. The storage structure of recommended model is described by node vector and adjacency matrix. The algorithm of transferring the graphic model into the storage structure is put forward. Design information and processing information are described and managed by expanding the attributes of vertices and arcs in the weighted diagraph-based product structure model. Some methods are discussed about the process planning and information integration. Thirdly, the significance and primary tasks of product configuration are discussed, the configuration methods based on version, validity and parameter are proposed, and the implementation procedure and related algorithm are put forward. An example of automobile's configuration is displayed. Then, a system for product structure management and configuration is developed, the flowchart and realization algorithm for product structure management is presented, and the product structure configuration based on version, validity and parameter is realized. Finally, the summary and further works are given.