Ontology-based virtual assembly model for collaborative virtual prototyping and simulation

Today's virtual prototyping systems for assembly provide a single instance of simulation and analysis solutions from models that are often generated from scratch. Virtual assembly models (VAM) are not fully integrated with other design activities, such as conceptual and detailed design, and design intent is not fully propagated to all product development activities. An assembly design (AsD) ontology can capture assembly and joining intents and can be efficiently reused in collaborative assembly development activities. Through the use of ontologies, computer systems can reason with data and informotion rather than just explicitly capture it. This paper presents an AsD ontology that plays as a formal, explicit specification of a shared conceptualization of assembly design and serves as a basis for a VAM for collaborative virtual prototyping and simulation (VP&S). The ontology based VAM makes clear the relations among assembly components and form features in an AsD and provides systematized knowledge, which can be reasoned by collaboration tools. The VAM also captures design rationale including joining intent and spatial relationships. This paper discusses the role of VAM in collaborative VP&S and presents an AsD browser for virtual assembly analysis.