Automatic communication from a neutral object model of mechanism to mechanism analysis programs based on a finite element approach in a software environment for CADCAM of mechanisms

The development of an intelligent graphical user-interface system for mechanism analysis and design suggests a neutral object model of mechanisms. This has raised an issue called automatic communication of the neutral object model of mechanism with programs for mechanism analysis and design. In this paper, we particularly address our developed system called GMMFEM which performs the automatic communication of a neutral object model of mechanisms, reported elsewhere, with the finite element program systems for mechanism analysis and design, developed at Delft University of Technology. The finite element approach to mechanism analysis and design has many advantages over others, which makes the current work significant. In addition, because the finite element theory has unanimously been used in analysis and design for flexible mechanisms, the discussion makes sense of generality. An approach called model-based reasoning is clarified and four features or ingredients of this approach are concluded. We illustrate the appropriateness of the approach to our problem and recognize the need of a Finite Element Mechanism Model (FEMM) in the GMMFEM system. FEMM is built by using a semantic data modelling approach to make the model more generic and extendable. The reasoning strategy and reasoning in the GMMFEM system to perform the automatical communication via FEMM are presented. The model-based reasoning approach to the GMMFEM system is applicable to other Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) systems. © 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.