Patent ID: 8275583

Claim:
A system for interactively optimizing shipping density of multiple copies of a component part in a container by a user comprising: a user computer system, wherein the user computer system includes a memory, a processor, a user input device and a display device; a communications network; a remotely located computer system operatively in communication with the user computer system via the communications network, wherein the remotely located computer system includes a processor, a memory, and a data storage means; a data storage device operatively in communication with the user computer system and the remotely located computer system via the communications network; a computer-generated model of the component part stored in the data storage means; a computer-generated model of the container stored in the data storage means; and an executable shipping density optimization software program, wherein the user uses the user computer system to execute the shipping density optimization software program and to communicate with the remotely located computer system to interactively select the component part model and the container model, and the software program is configured to: calculate an initial shipping density for the multiple copies of the component part within the container by arranging at least a first copy and a second copy of the component part model within the container model, determine a plurality of minimal distance vectors between a plurality of pairs of points, each of the plurality of pairs of points consisting of a first point on the first copy of the component part model and a second point on a mating boundary of the second copy of the component part model, cluster the plurality of minimal distance vectors to create a plurality of clusters identifying a plurality of groups of points that belong to respective pairs of corresponding features having mating boundaries, identify a bottleneck feature of the component part model limiting the initial shipping density because the bottleneck feature establishes a minimum allowable clearance between the first and second copies of the component part model, wherein a first group of the plurality of groups of points with a highest membership grade to its respective cluster center characterizes a minimal distance between the first and second copies of the component model to thereby identify the bottleneck feature, prompt the user to modify at least one dimension of the bottleneck feature to create a modified component part model, the modification being representative of changing a manufacturing process used to produce the component part such that a portion of the process is performed after the component part is shipped to a destination, calculate an improved shipping density for the multiple copies of the modified component part model within the container model, and determine a potential shipping density improvement resulting from the modification of the at least one dimension of the bottleneck feature.