On the use of shape grammars as expert systems for geometry-based engineering design

Abstract

Production systems have traditionally been used in engineering to aid the designer in generating designs in domains not significantly influenced by geometry. However, in geometric-based domains such as mechanical engineering, their popularity has been limited. This work proposes the use of shape grammars as the framework for engineering expert systems. Shape grammars are shown to have all the generation and analysis capabilities of traditional production systems, while being able to represent knowledge about both the functionality and the form of a product. Additionally, the parametric nature of shape grammars, their ability to deal with physical form rather than abstract elements, and their ability to recognize emergent shapes give them significant advantages over traditional production systems for geometry-based engineering design.