Patent Document ID: 20150199470
Application ID: 14153374
Patent Status: 0

Claim One:
1. A system for selecting a part that most closely matches a desired part from a plurality of part models, comprising: a memory having a database including the plurality of part models for existing parts; a user interface configured to receive input of a number of search parameters for the desired part; a processor unit; and product management software executable by the processor unit and configured to retrieve part models from the database for the existing parts based on the number of search parameters, wherein the processor unit is configured to define, for each of retrieved part models, a prism having a volume that contains a volume of a part corresponding to the each of the retrieved part models, and display on a display system an assembly model including a three-dimensional view of candidate parts using the retrieved part models arranged in positions relative to each other, wherein the candidate parts in the three-dimensional view are displayed in a side-by-side configuration in an order based on a number of characteristics of each prism such that a part model that most closely matches the desired part may be identified and selected for reuse.