JP2005189978A - Product design assisting system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a product design assisting system and a method for it capable of checking a manufacturing condition in product designing for designing a product surely satisfying the manufacturing condition. <P>SOLUTION: This product design assisting system that assists product desige is provided with a shape setting means receiving input about a product shape, a manufacturing condition setting means setting the manufacturing condition of the product, a production determining means determining whether the product with the set shape can be manufactured in the set manufacturing condition or not, and a notification means notifying that the product cannot be manufactured in the set manufacturing condition when it is determined that the product cannot be manufactured in the set manufacturing condition. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a product design support system and a product design support method, and more particularly to a product design support system and a product design support method capable of performing product design while reflecting product manufacturing conditions and the like.

  When designing a product or its parts (hereinafter simply referred to as "product"), work with the focus on satisfying performance (design requirements) such as dimensions, structure, strength, and characteristics required for the product. Is underway.

For this reason, when the product design is completed and the equipment (molds, etc.) for actually manufacturing the product is designed, the designed product is manufactured due to restrictions on manufacturing conditions such as manufacturing requirements and production technology requirements. Sometimes it turns out that you can't.
For example, in the design of a product manufactured by injection molding using a mold, the product design is recommended to meet the design requirements, the design is completed, and then the mold design for manufacturing the product is started. At this stage, it is found that the shape of the product cannot be removed from the mold after molding, and a situation may arise in which it is necessary to correct the shape of the product that has been designed.

  In addition, even when product design is performed in consideration of manufacturing conditions, there is a variation in the designer's knowledge level and proficiency, so if a designer with low knowledge level and proficiency performs product design In many cases, the product design with sufficient consideration of the manufacturing conditions cannot be performed. For this reason, when the product design is completed, it is found that the manufacturing conditions such as the manufacturing requirements and the production technology requirements are not satisfied, that is, the manufacturing is impossible or difficult, and the product design must be performed again. There was a waste of time and cost.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and provides a product design support system and a product design support method capable of checking manufacturing conditions at the time of product design and capable of designing a product that reliably satisfies the manufacturing conditions. The purpose is to do.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a product design support system for supporting product design, a shape setting means for receiving an input of the product shape, a manufacturing condition setting means for setting manufacturing conditions for the product, and the shape is set. Manufacturing determination means for determining whether or not the set product can be manufactured according to the set manufacturing conditions, and when it is determined that the product cannot be manufactured under the set manufacturing conditions, There is provided a product design support system comprising a notification means for notifying that the product cannot be manufactured.

  According to such a configuration, it is determined during product design whether the designed product can be manufactured under the set manufacturing conditions. It is prevented that the manufactured product cannot be actually manufactured and the design must be re-designed, and the product design is made more efficient.

According to another preferred aspect of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises display means for displaying the notification.
According to another preferred aspect of the present invention, a database relating to the manufacturing conditions is provided, and the determination is performed based on the contents of the database.
According to another preferred aspect of the present invention, a database relating to the product shape is provided, and the determination is performed based on the contents of the database.

According to another preferred aspect of the present invention, when it is determined that the product cannot be manufactured under the set manufacturing conditions, a presentation for presenting an example of changing the manufacturing conditions for manufacturing the product with the set shape is provided. Means.
According to such a configuration, a specific modification example of the manufacturing condition is presented, so that even a designer who is not highly skilled can proceed with product design quickly and appropriately.

According to another preferred aspect of the invention, the database is updatable.
According to another preferred aspect of the present invention, the product design support system is configured such that a product shape or manufacturing conditions can be reset based on a notification from the notification means.

According to another preferred aspect of the invention, the database is updated by additionally storing data based on the reset manufacturing conditions.
According to another preferred aspect of the invention, the database is updated by additionally storing data based on the reset product shape.

  According to such a configuration, when the manufacturing condition or the product shape is reset, data relating to the reset manufacturing condition or product shape is added to the previous data. Therefore, new data is accumulated in the database each time the manufacturing conditions or product shape is reset.

  According to the other preferable aspect of this invention, the said product is a product manufactured using a metal mold | die, The said manufacturing conditions include the manufacturing requirements peculiar to product manufacture using a metal mold | die.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a product design support method for supporting product design, the step of receiving input of the product shape, the step of setting manufacturing conditions of the product,
Determining whether the product having the set shape can be manufactured according to the set manufacturing conditions, and determining that the product cannot be manufactured under the set manufacturing conditions; A product design support method comprising: a step of notifying that the product cannot be manufactured under conditions.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the product design support system and product design support method which can check the manufacturing conditions at the time of product design and can design the product which satisfy | fills manufacturing conditions reliably are provided.

Hereinafter, a product design support system and method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The product design support system of the present invention is a product design support system used in product design using a computer, and determines whether or not a designed product can be manufactured under set manufacturing conditions. When the product is determined to be unmanufacturable, the product design support system prevents a product that cannot be manufactured from being designed by notifying the fact.

  The product design support system of this embodiment is a product design support system for designing a product manufactured by injection molding. In product design using a computer, the product design is, for example, the state of the three-dimensional data of the product shape including the shape of the back surface from the state of the three-dimensional data (first stage) of only the surface (design surface) shape of the product. Through the (second stage), the process proceeds to the state of the final three-dimensional data of the product shape including the detailed shape of the product (third stage).

  In the product design support system of the present embodiment, for each of these stages, it is determined whether or not a product having the shape determined in that stage can be manufactured under the set manufacturing conditions, and the determination is made. Present the results to the designer. When it is determined that a product having the determined shape cannot be manufactured under the set manufacturing conditions (for example, the dimensions and structure of the mold), the designer is notified of the fact and the manufacturing conditions are also notified. An example of such changes is presented to the designer.

Next, the product design support system of this embodiment will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. Here, the case where the body of a cellular phone as a product is designed will be described as an example.
The product design support system of the present embodiment is a system that supports and supports product design (CAD) by a computer, and is incorporated as software in a computer that operates the CAD system. Furthermore, the product design support system of the present embodiment includes a database relating to product manufacturing conditions. This database includes data on manufacturing equipment such as the dimensions and structure of molds used for manufacturing products, and specifications of injection molding machines, the shape of products designed in the past, and the manufacturing conditions set for the products, etc. Various data are stored.

  FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the contents of processing performed in the product design support system of this embodiment. Here, in parallel with the progress of the design of the mobile phone body, which is the product to be designed, 3D data of the product shape (FIG. 2) of the first stage (initial stage) of the mobile phone body, the second stage (intermediate stage) 3D data of the product shape (FIG. 3) and 3D shape data of the 3D data of the third stage (final stage) product shape (FIG. 4) are sequentially input to the product design support system. The processing contents of this embodiment will be described below.

  First, in step S1, manufacturing conditions are read from the database and input. Manufacturing conditions are conditions relating to a mold, an injection molding machine, and the like used for manufacturing. In the present embodiment, when it is input that the product to be designed is a mobile phone body, the manufacturing conditions for a similar mobile phone body designed previously are read from the database and set as default manufacturing conditions. In this way, manufacturing conditions (mold dimensions, structure, injection molding machine specifications, etc.) for manufacturing a cellular phone body to be designed from these are set.

  Next, in step S2, the first-stage product shape is input as numerical data. The data of the first stage is 3D data indicating the shape of only the design surface (FIG. 2) used in the first drawing, and is 3D data of the product shape at the stage where the design is not advanced.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S3, and it is determined whether or not a product having the input shape can be manufactured under the manufacturing conditions set in step S1. This determination is performed by comparing the product shape input in step S2 with the manufacturing conditions set in step S1. Specifically, "Mold size check" to check whether the mold size in the set production conditions can be mounted on the set injection molding machine, in the set production conditions "Mold weight check" to check whether the mold weight can be applied to the set injection molding machine, whether the core after injection molding can be pulled out under the set manufacturing conditions “Core side / draft angle check” for checking, “Inclined core 1 / tilt angle check” for checking whether the tilt angle of the tilted core in the set manufacturing conditions is appropriate, set manufacturing “Inclined core 1 / undercut processing check” to check whether undercut can be formed with the inclined core in the condition, is the ejector pin protrusion amount in the set manufacturing conditions appropriate? Or "ejector amount check" to check, "mechanical components interference check" or the like components with each other of the mold it is checked whether or not interference in the production conditions are set is performed.

  Since these checks are performed based on the manufacturing conditions stored in the database, in this embodiment, it is determined whether the product can be manufactured under the set manufacturing conditions based on the contents of the database. It will be.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S4, and the determination result is displayed in step S3. Specifically, a screen as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the computer display, and the determination result is notified to the designer. The example of FIG. 5 is a display example in which only the “mold size check” item is set to “x” as a result of determining that only the mold size is inappropriate.

  Following the screen in FIG. 5, the screen shown in FIG. 6 displays a message that “the mold size exceeds the size that can be mounted on the molding machine”, and the size of the mold is inappropriate for the designer. Is notified.

  Furthermore, it progresses to step S5 and it is determined whether it was all (circle) by determination of step S3, ie, manufacture was possible. In the case of the example of FIG. 5, since the mold size is inappropriate, step S5 is NO. If NO in step S5, the designer needs to change either the manufacturing conditions or the product shape. Which one to change is appropriately selected by the designer according to the type of conditions that are not satisfied.

  If NO in step S5, the process proceeds to step S6 to determine whether or not to change the product shape. If the designer changes the product shape in order to satisfy the manufacturing conditions, the answer is YES, and the process proceeds to step S7, where the product shape is changed, and then the process returns to step S2.

  If NO in step S6, that is, if the designer does not change the product shape, the process proceeds to step S8, where the manufacturing conditions are changed. In step S8, for example, a change example of how to change the manufacturing conditions is presented on the screen (FIG. 7) displayed subsequent to the screen of FIG. 6 in step S4. In step S8, the designer changes the manufacturing conditions by selecting one of the presented modification examples. It is good also as a structure which can perform change other than the example of a change shown.

  Based on the changed manufacturing conditions, the database is updated in step S9. The content of this update is that data relating to the changed manufacturing conditions is added to and stored in the data relating to the previous manufacturing conditions. Therefore, in this embodiment, data relating to manufacturing conditions that have been examined and determined in the past are accumulated in the database.

  Specifically, the database is updated by additionally storing the manufacturing conditions after the change in addition to the manufacturing conditions before the change as the manufacturing conditions of the mobile phone body currently being designed. For example, if “Change the cavity and core thickness from the outermost point of the product to be reduced” is selected, the thinned cavity and core after the change will be the conventional manufacturing conditions for the mobile phone body currently designed. In addition to the manufacturing conditions, the data is stored in the database, and the database is updated.

  Next, the process returns to step S3, the manufacturing conditions are determined again, and the result is displayed in step S4.

  When all the manufacturing conditions in step S3 are satisfied as a result of selecting one of the presented modification examples in step S8, determination results of all items being ◯ are displayed in step S4 as shown in FIG. Is done. In this case, the determination in the next step S5 is YES.

  If YES in step S5, the process proceeds to step S10 to update the database. This database update is performed based on the changes in the product shape and manufacturing conditions performed in steps S7 and S8. The product shape determined at the current stage and the manufacturing conditions set at the current stage Are associated and stored in the database. Since this update stores new data in addition to the previous product shape and manufacturing conditions, data related to the product shape and manufacturing conditions is accumulated by the update.

  The data relating to the manufacturing conditions newly stored by the update becomes the initial setting data. As a result, for example, when the mobile phone body is next designed, the manufacturing conditions of the mobile phone body are read in step S1. Is set as the initial value of the thickness of the cavity and bore.

  Next, returning to step S11, it is determined whether or not the product shape input in the immediately preceding step S2 is the final product shape. When the data input in the immediately preceding step S2 is 3D data indicating the shape of only the design surface used in the first drawing as shown in FIG. 2, step S11 is NO, and step S2 Returning to FIG. 3, second-stage 3D data (data used in the second drawing) as shown in FIG. 3 is input, and the process proceeds to step S3.

In step S3, it is checked again whether or not the second-stage product shape can be manufactured under the set manufacturing conditions. Since the product shape of the second stage has a “claw shape” portion P added to the product shape of the first stage (FIG. 3), the product shape including this “claw shape” portion P is set under the manufacturing conditions. It is determined whether or not manufacturing is possible.
Next, the process proceeds to step S4, and the result of the determination made in step S3 is displayed. Specifically, a screen as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed on the computer display, and the determination result is notified to the designer.

  The example of FIG. 9 is a display example in which it is determined that the undercut of the second-stage product shape cannot be formed under the set manufacturing conditions, and the item “undercut processing check” is set to x. is there. Following the screen in FIG. 9, the screen shown in FIG. 10 displays the message “Inclined core 1 cannot be processed.” Under the set manufacturing conditions, the undercut cannot be formed. You will be notified.

Furthermore, the screen of FIG. 11 is displayed, and examples of changes for forming undercuts “change of product shape”, “change of tilt angle of tilted core”, and “change of ejector amount” are presented. In this example, in addition to the change in manufacturing conditions, “change in product shape” is also presented in the change example.
11, when “Change tilt angle of tilt core” is selected in 2 in the screen of FIG. 11, the precautions when changing the angle of “tilt core” as shown in FIG. 12 are presented. Call attention to non-experts with little knowledge of the core.

Furthermore, it progresses again to step S5 and it is determined whether all the manufacturing conditions determined by step S3 were satisfy | filled. If NO in step S5, the process proceeds to step S6 to determine whether or not to change the product shape.
When the designer selects “change product shape” on the screen of FIG. 11 in order to satisfy the manufacturing conditions, step S6 becomes YES, and the process proceeds to step S7, where the product shape is changed, and then step Return to S2.

  If NO in step S6, that is, if the designer has not changed the product shape, the process proceeds to step S8, where the manufacturing conditions are changed. In step S8, for example, the manufacturing condition is changed by changing the manufacturing condition to one of the presented modification examples based on the screen of FIG. Further, in step S9, the changed manufacturing conditions are stored in the database in addition to the previous manufacturing conditions, whereby the database is updated. Therefore, manufacturing conditions used (examined or judged) in past design work are accumulated in the database.

  Further, returning to step S3, the changed manufacturing condition is determined again, and the result is displayed in step S4.

  As a result of selecting one of the presented modification examples in step S8, when all the conditions are satisfied in the determination of the manufacturing condition in step S3, the determination result as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed in step S4. The In this case, the determination in the next step S5 is YES.

  If YES in step S5, the process proceeds to step S10 to update the database again. In this database update, the database is updated based on the change in the second stage product shape performed in step S7 and the change in the manufacturing condition relating to the second stage product shape performed in step S8. That is, the changed product shape and manufacturing conditions are associated with each other and stored in the database in addition to the previous product shape and manufacturing conditions.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S11, and it is determined whether or not the product shape input in step S2 is the final product shape. When the input in step S2 is 3D data indicating the shape of the second stage used in the second drawing as shown in FIG. 3, step S11 is NO and the process returns to step S2. 3D data of the next stage (final stage) as shown in FIG. 3 is input, and the process proceeds to step S3.

In step S3, it is checked again whether or not the final product shape can be manufactured under the set manufacturing conditions. As for the final product shape, the detailed shape of the back surface of the product is all determined, so the positional relationship between the mechanical components is determined.
Next, the process proceeds to step S4, and the result of the determination made in step S3 is displayed. Specifically, a screen as shown in FIG. 13 is displayed on the display of the computer, and the determination result is notified to the designer.

  In the example of FIG. 13, it is determined that the inclined core and the ejector pin interfere with each other in the manufacture of the product in which 3D data of the final product shape is input under the set manufacturing conditions. This is a display example in which x is indicated. Following the screen in FIG. 13, a message “Inclined core 1 and ejector pin 1 are interfering” is displayed on the screen shown in FIG. 14. That the other components interfere with each other.

Further, the screen of FIG. 15 is displayed, and the state of interference between the inclined core C and the ejector pin E is specifically displayed.
Further, the screen of FIG. 17 is displayed, and “change of product shape”, “change of tilt angle of tilt core”, “change of ejector amount”, which are modification examples for preventing interference between the tilt core 1 and the ejector pin 1. “Change”, “Change the shape of the inclined core”, and “Change the position of the E pin” are presented. In this example, in addition to the change in the manufacturing conditions, “change in product shape” is also presented in the change example.

Here, if a certain condition is changed in order to satisfy a certain manufacturing requirement, other requirements may not be satisfied. Specifically, for example, in order to prevent interference between the inclined core 1 and the ejector pin 1, if the inclination of the inclined core is shallow, an undercut cannot be formed.
In such a case, when the inclination of the inclined core is changed to be shallow, a warning screen as shown in FIG. 17 is displayed to notify that the inclination of the inclined core cannot be reduced. Then, by selecting another term such as “change the shape of the inclined core”, all the conditions are satisfied.

Then, the process again proceeds to step S5, and it is determined whether or not all the manufacturing conditions determined in step S3 are satisfied. If NO in step S5, the process proceeds to step S6 to determine whether or not to change the product shape.
When the designer selects “change product shape” on the screen of FIG. 16 in order to satisfy the manufacturing conditions, step S6 becomes YES, and the process proceeds to step S7. Return to S2.

  If NO in step S6, that is, if the designer has not changed the product shape, the process proceeds to step S8, where the manufacturing conditions are changed. In step S8, for example, the manufacturing condition is changed by changing the manufacturing condition to one of the presented modification examples based on the screen of FIG.

  Next, in step S9, the database is updated based on the manufacturing conditions changed in step S8. Specifically, the database is updated by storing the changed manufacturing conditions in addition to the previous manufacturing conditions as the manufacturing conditions of the cellular phone body currently being designed. Accordingly, every time manufacturing conditions are changed, manufacturing conditions that have been used (examined or determined) in the past are accumulated in the database.

  Further, returning to step S3, the changed manufacturing condition is determined again, and the result is displayed in step S4.

  As a result of selecting any of the presented modification examples in step S8, when the determination of the manufacturing conditions in step S3 is all satisfied, the determination result as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed in step S4. In this case, the determination in the next step S5 is YES.

If YES in step S5, the process proceeds to step S10 to update the database again. In this database update, the database is updated based on the change in the third stage product shape performed in step S7 and the change in the manufacturing conditions related to the second stage product shape performed in step S8. That is, the changed product shape and manufacturing conditions are associated with each other and stored in the database in addition to the previous product shape and manufacturing conditions, thereby updating the database.
Accordingly, every time manufacturing conditions are changed, manufacturing conditions that have been used (examined or determined) in the past are accumulated in the database.

  Next, the process proceeds to step 11, and it is determined whether or not the product shape input in step S2 is the final product shape. When the data input in step S2 is 3D data indicating the final stage shape used in the third drawing as shown in FIG. 4, step S11 is YES and the process is terminated.

  By performing such processing, product design is performed in consideration of manufacturing conditions. Therefore, it is prevented that the product design is re-executed for manufacturing reasons after the product design is completed, and productivity is improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the matters described in the claims.
The above embodiment has been described by taking the design of the body of the mobile phone as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to the design of other similar products.

  In the above embodiment, the shape data of the product is input in three stages. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the shape data is input over 2 or 4 times. It may be configured.

  In the above embodiment, a product manufactured by injection molding is designed. However, the product design support system of the present invention is not limited to this, and other manufacturing methods using molds such as casting and pressing. It can also be applied when designing products manufactured in

It is a flowchart which shows the content of the process performed with the product design support system of one Embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the product shape of the 1st step input into the product design support system of embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the product shape of the 2nd step input into the product design support system of embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the product shape of the 3rd step input into the product design support system of embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the determination result display shown on a display screen. It is an example of the determination result display shown on a display screen. It is an example of presentation of the example of a change shown on a display screen. It is an example of the determination result display shown on a display screen. It is an example of the determination result display shown on a display screen. It is an example of the determination result display shown on a display screen. It is an example of presentation of the example of a change shown on a display screen. It is an example of presentation of the example of a change shown on a display screen. It is an example of the determination result display shown on a display screen. It is an example of the determination result display shown on a display screen. It is an example of the determination result display shown on a display screen. It is an example of presentation of the example of a change shown on a display screen. It is an example of the determination result display shown on a display screen.

Claims (11)

A product design support system for supporting product design,
Shape setting means for receiving an input of the product shape;
Manufacturing condition setting means for setting manufacturing conditions for the product;
Manufacturing determination means for determining whether the product having the set shape can be manufactured according to the set manufacturing conditions;
A notification means for notifying that the product cannot be manufactured under the manufacturing conditions when it is determined that the product cannot be manufactured under the set manufacturing conditions;
Product design support system characterized by that. It further comprises display means for displaying the notification.
The product design support system according to claim 1. A database relating to the manufacturing conditions is provided, and the determination is performed based on the contents of the database.
The product design support system according to claim 1 or 2. Comprising a database relating to the product shape, and performing the determination based on the contents of the database;
The product design support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. When it is determined that the product cannot be manufactured under the set manufacturing conditions, the information processing apparatus includes a presentation unit that presents a modification example of the manufacturing conditions for manufacturing the product with the shape set.
The product design support system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The database is updatable;
The product design support system according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The product design support system is configured such that a product shape or manufacturing conditions can be reset based on a notification from the notification means.
The product design support system according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The database is updated by additionally storing data based on the reconfigured manufacturing conditions;
The product design support system according to claim 7. The database is updated by additionally storing data based on the reset product shape;
The product design support system according to claim 7. The product is a product manufactured using a mold;
The manufacturing conditions include manufacturing requirements specific to product manufacturing using a mold,
The product design support system according to any one of claims 1 to 9. A product design support method for supporting product design,
Receiving the input of the product shape;
Setting the manufacturing conditions of the product;
Determining whether the product with the set shape can be manufactured according to the set manufacturing conditions;
A step of notifying that the product cannot be manufactured under the manufacturing conditions when it is determined that the product cannot be manufactured under the set manufacturing conditions.
A product design support method characterized by that.

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