A framework for real-time collaborative assembly modeling in a distributed team-based design environment.
Published: 2004
Language: eng
Number of pages: 156
Description: Collaborative CAD systems enabling collaboration in computer-aided design processes among distributed designers are gaining more and more attention. Yet, such systems, especially in support of collaborative assembly modeling, are hardly achievable. Targeting this gap, this thesis addresses an Internet-enabled real-time collaborative assembly modeling system, which could allow a group of geographically dispersed designers to jointly build an assembly model in real time over the Internet.In this work, a new assembly representation, called Collaborative Assembly Representation (CAR), in support of real-time collaborative assembly modeling is introduced. CAR is a client-server model, which consists of two versions: Master Assembly Model (MAM) and Slave Assembly Model (SAM). MAM is a complete version of CAR and is stored on the server-side. During real-time collaborative assembly modeling, MAM is shared among designers for collaboration. Meanwhile, SAM is a simplified version of CAR and is compact enough for transmission via the Internet and for display on the client-side. The design of CAR addresses two new requirements from real-time collaborative assembly modeling, that is, collaboration and compact. Moreover, the collaborative assembly computation (CAC) problem in the context of real-time collaborative assembly modeling is formally described and a new method of solution to the CAC problem is proposed. This method is purported to address two particular issues arising in the CAC, namely, model consistency  and computation efficiency. In particular, it consists of two methodological components: a collection of rules forming the computing protocol dedicated to CAC, named CAC protocol, and a two-phase incremental constraint satisfaction approach. Based on the results of CAR and CAC, a prototyping real-time collaborative assembly modeling system, named e-Assembly, is implemented to show the proof-of-concepts for the research presented in this thesis. Finally, the use of e-Assembly in collaborative assembly modeling process is demonstrated through a toy truck example. Results have shown that the e-Assembly system provides a collaboration gateway for designers in a distributed design environment to collaborate on the Internet to rapidly design a product assembly in a cost-effective and time-efficient manner.
Notes: Adviser: Li Chen.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Toronto, 2004.

Electronic version licensed for access by U. of T. users.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 65-10, Section: B, page: 5365.