A collaborative design conception with functional elements' approach

The search for suitable data input for a description of mechanical assemblies (MAs) and for a standardized method of information exchange are worldwide problems. The separate design tasks (preparation of the specification, assembly and parts' drafting, assembly planning, dimensional tolerance analysis, etc.) are usually solved without an appropriate united medium model of a MA. For this objective, an approach with functional elements (FEs) was proposed. FEs are basic design objects which contain information about the mechanical joints and working surfaces of the MA. A collaborative design (CD) conception based on the functional description of a MA (with FEs) is proposed. A schema for the organization of and relations between the main modules for functional description, geometrical composition, analysis and documentation is presented. The formulation of new contents of the catalogue (a principal format of FE data) and its use as a generative information exchange tool is presented.