Multi-level assembly model for top-down design of mechanical products

To enable next generation CAD tools to effectively support top-down design of products, a top-down assembly design process is refined from the traditional product design process to better exhibit the recursive-execution and structure-evolvement characteristics of product design. Based on the top-down assembly design process, a multi-level assembly model is put forward to capture the abstract information, skeleton information and detailed information involved. The multi-level assembly model is a meta-level implementation and is easy to be extended. Moreover, the inheritance mechanisms are explored to ensure the feasibility of information transferring and conversion between different design phases in the top-down assembly design process. A top-down assembly design sample is analyzed at length to show the application effects of the multi-level assembly model and the relevant inheritance mechanisms. In addition, a practical topic about the model adaptation of existing CAD systems is also discussed for a broader application of the top-down assembly design. Finally, the conclusion of the work and the future directions for further exploration are given.

Research highlights
► An integrated multi-level assembly model capturing information in abstract design, skeleton design and detailed design.
► Various inheritance mechanisms ensuring the design information transition during top-down design.
► A reasonable top-down assembly design process underlaid which is suitable for computerization.