Creativity Meets Constraints - Sketch-Based CAD for Industrial Designers with Engineering Constraint Management

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

The research objective of this award is to enable designers to develop 3D product forms through a sketch-based modeling interface, while allowing them to seamlessly manage and accommodate known engineering constraints. This research will result in new methods for conceptual design in which the unguided exploration activities necessitating tedious downstream efforts are replaced by a set of guided, yet free-form design activities. By allowing engineering constraints to be considered concurrently with form generation, the proposed study aims to make product design significantly more streamlined, focused, and efficient, while minimizing costly post-design efforts. The primary research task and the resulting contribution will be a suite of novel computational techniques and associated software that enable conceptual shape creation and exploration in the presence of dimensional, layout, and ergonomic constraints. If successful, the results of this research will enhance current design practices by allowing important design criteria to be managed and applied concurrently with conceptual form design. This, in turn, will help alleviate many of the costly conflicts that are likely to occur in the current design settings. This effort will also enhance the infrastructure for human-centric design research and education by establishing a practical sketch-based 3D design platform, requiring little or no solid modeling expertise. The investigators will mentor undergraduate students on independent research projects and make the resulting software available in the design courses they regularly offer in their institutions. Finally, the novel interactive features of the proposed system will be used to engage non-engineers and K-12 students with engineering and technological innovation through educational and outreach programs.