Computer Aided Concept Design for Structural Configuration of Machine Tools: Variant Design Using Directed Graph

Abstract

The modular design system has recently become important, not only to rationalize the design and manufacturing procedures of the machine tool, but also to evolve the flexible manufacturing system. In this paper, therefore, to establish a design methodology for the modular construction system of machine tools, a generating method for structural configuration, i.e., a procedure of computer aided concept design has been proposed. The proposed method is of variant design type, in which a machine tool as a whole and modular complex are represented with the directed graph, it being suitable for the information processing and storage of data. When generating a structural configuration, at first, possible modular complexes in the data memory are referred to, and then through simple mathematical treatment they are integrated so as to form structural configurations. By this method, all possible structural configurations of the machine tool can be generated systematically and rationally, according to the machining requirement.