Quantification of Symmetry, Parallelism, and Continuity as Continuous Design Variables for Three-Dimensional Product Representations

Author(s):  
Ambrosio Valencia-Romero ◽  
José E. Lugo

This work introduces a methodology to quantify the form of a three-dimensional (3D) product representation using the Gestalt principles of symmetry, parallelism, and continuity, and how they can be used as descriptive parameters in product design. First, consistent quantifications of these three Gestalt principles for parametrized 3D representations in a zero-one scale are presented. Then, a generalized methodology applicable to any product form is discussed. It starts with the identification of important aesthetic forms of the product shape and the Gestalt principles that best related to those forms, and ends with the quantification of these Gestalt principles of a 3D product representation. The expressions to quantify the Gestalt principles in question are validated through an online survey in which subjects indicated how much they recognize symmetry, parallelism, or continuity from irregular shapes. Finally, random-effects ordered logit regression is used to determine if the expressions effectively describe the level of recognition of each Gestalt principle. Results show that the proposed quantifications for symmetry, parallelism, and continuity are congruent with subjects perception of these Gestalt principles, and the implications for designers and future work are discussed. Further implications in the design process of these quantifications include the optimization of the product shape for aesthetic, semantic, and functional goals.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fergus Imrie ◽  
Thomas E. Hadfield ◽  
Anthony R. Bradley ◽  
Charlotte M. Deane

AbstractGenerative models have increasingly been proposed as a solution to the molecular design problem. However, it has proved challenging to control the design process or incorporate prior knowledge, limiting their practical use in drug discovery. In particular, generative methods have made limited use of three-dimensional (3D) structural information even though this is critical to binding. This work describes a method to incorporate such information and demonstrates the benefit of doing so. We combine an existing graph-based deep generative model, DeLinker, with a convolutional neural network to utilise physically-meaningful 3D representations of molecules and target pharmacophores. We apply our model, DEVELOP, to both linker and R-group design, demonstrating its suitability for both hit-to-lead and lead optimisation. The 3D pharmacophoric information results in improved generation and allows greater control of the design process. In multiple large-scale evaluations, we show that including 3D pharmacophoric constraints results in substantial improvements in the quality of generated molecules. On a challenging test set derived from PDBbind, our model improves the proportion of generated molecules with high 3D similarity to the original molecule by over 300%. In addition, DEVELOP recovers 10 × more of the original molecules compared to the base-line DeLinker method. Our approach is general-purpose, readily modifiable to alternate 3D representations, and can be incorporated into other generative frameworks. Code is available at https://github.com/oxpig/DEVELOP.


2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Srikanth Devanathan ◽  
Karthik Ramani

Understanding the limits of a design is an important aspect of the design process. When mathematical models are constructed to describe a design concept, the limits are typically expressed as constraints involving the variables of that concept. The set of values for the design variables that do not violate constraints constitute the design space of that concept. In this work, we transform a parametric design problem into a geometry problem thereby enabling computational geometry algorithms to support design exploration. A polytope-based representation is presented to geometrically approximate the design space. The design space is represented as a finite set of (at most) three-dimensional (possibly nonconvex) polytopes, i.e., points, intervals, polygons, and polyhedra. The algorithm for constructing the design space is developed by interpreting constraint-consistency algorithms as computational-geometric operations and consequently extending (3,2)-consistency algorithm for polytope representations. A simple example of a fingernail clipper design is used to illustrate the approach.


Author(s):  
Erich Devendorf ◽  
Kemper Lewis

Mistakes in the design process have been recognized as a major source of product quality loss. There are several methods currently used to identify and quantify these mistakes. However, these methods typically do not provide a useful context within which to quantitatively incorporate mistakes into the design process in a beneficial way. This paper presents an approach to determine when it is appropriate to perform error checking to eliminate a potential mistake. The proposed approach is intended to be used when time is a limited design resource and design goals are technically attainable. It is proposed that the cost of a mistake can be quantified as the amount of time a mistake adds or subtracts from the overall time required to achieve the design’s objectives. To determine this, an optimization problem is formulated which minimizes time spent in the design process. In this optimization problem the design variables are the binary choice whether or not to perform an error check. The approach is demonstrated in two case studies, one a simple theoretical design problem and the other the design of an I-beam. The results of these case studies demonstrate the approach’s effectiveness, and present several avenues for future work.


2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Yintao ◽  
Luo Yiwen ◽  
Miao Yiming ◽  
Chai Delong ◽  
Feng Xijin

ABSTRACT: This article focuses on steel cord deformation and force investigation within heavy-duty radial tires. Typical bending deformation and tension force distributions of steel reinforcement within a truck bus radial (TBR) tire have been obtained, and they provide useful input for the local scale modeling of the steel cord. The three-dimensional carpet plots of the cord force distribution within a TBR tire are presented. The carcass-bending curvature is derived from the deformation of the carcass center line. A high-efficiency modeling approach for layered multistrand cord structures has been developed that uses cord design variables such as lay angle, lay length, and radius of the strand center line as input. Several types of steel cord have been modeled using the developed method as an example. The pure tension for two cords and the combined tension bending under various loading conditions relevant to tire deformation have been simulated by a finite element analysis (FEA). Good agreement has been found between experimental and FEA-determined tension force-displacement curves, and the characteristic structural and plastic deformation phases have been revealed by the FE simulation. Furthermore, some interesting local stress and deformation patterns under combined tension and bending are found that have not been previously reported. In addition, an experimental cord force measurement approach is included in this article.


2005 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clarissa Ribeiro Pereira de Almeida ◽  
Anja Pratschke ◽  
Renata La Rocca

This paper draws on current research on complexity and design process in architecture and offers a proposal for how architects might bring complex thought to bear on the understanding of design process as a complex system, to understand architecture as a way of organizing events, and of organizing interaction. Our intention is to explore the hypothesis that the basic characteristics of complex systems – emergence, nonlinearity, self-organization, hologramaticity, and so forth – can function as effective tools for conceptualization that can usefully extend the understanding of the way architects think and act throughout the design process. To illustrate the discussions, we show how architects might bring complex thought inside a transdisciplinary design process by using models such as software engineering diagrams, and three-dimensional modeling network environments such as media to integrate, connect and ‘trans–act’.


2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (5) ◽  
pp. 735-742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwang-Yong Kim ◽  
Seoung-Jin Seo

In this paper, the response surface method using a three-dimensional Navier-Stokes analysis to optimize the shape of a forward-curved-blade centrifugal fan is described. For the numerical analysis, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the standard k-ε turbulence model are discretized with finite volume approximations. The SIMPLEC algorithm is used as a velocity–pressure correction procedure. In order to reduce the huge computing time due to a large number of blades in forward-curved-blade centrifugal fan, the flow inside of the fan is regarded as steady flow by introducing the impeller force models. Four design variables, i.e., location of cutoff, radius of cutoff, expansion angle of scroll, and width of impeller, were selected to optimize the shapes of scroll and blades. Data points for response evaluations were selected by D-optimal design, and a linear programming method was used for the optimization on the response surface. As a main result of the optimization, the efficiency was successfully improved. Effects of the relative size of the inactive zone at the exit of impeller and momentum fluxes of the flow in scroll on efficiency were further discussed. It was found that the optimization process provides a reliable design of this kind of fan with reasonable computing time.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-52
Author(s):  
Alexandra Bloesch-Paidosh ◽  
Kristina Shea

Abstract When designing for Additive Manufacturing (AM), designers often need assistance in breaking out of their conventional manufacturing mind-set. Previously, Blösch-Paidosh and Shea (2019) derived Design Heuristics for AM (DHAM) to assist designers in doing this during the early phases of the design process. This work proposes a set of 25 multi-modal cards and objects to accompany each of the Design Heuristics for AM and studies their effect through a series of controlled, novice user studies conducted using both teams and individuals who redesign a city E-Bike. The resulting AM concepts are analyzed in terms of the quantity of design modifications relevant for AM, AM-flexibility, novelty, and variety. It is found that the DHAM cards and objects increase the inclusion of AM concepts, AM modifications, and the unique capabilities of AM in the concepts generated by both individuals and teams. They also increase the creativity of the concepts generated by both individuals and teams, as measured through a series of defined metrics. Further, the objects in combination with the cards are more effective at stimulating the generation of a wider variety of designs than the cards alone. Future work will focus on studying the use of the DHAM cards and objects in an industrial setting.


Author(s):  
Sam E. Calisch ◽  
Neil A. Gershenfeld

Honeycomb sandwich panels are widely used for high performance parts subject to bending loads, but their manufacturing costs remain high. In particular, for parts with non-flat, non-uniform geometry, honeycombs must be machined or thermoformed with great care and expense. The ability to produce shaped honeycombs would allow sandwich panels to replace monolithic parts in a number of high performance, space-constrained applications, while also providing new areas of research for structural optimization, distributed sensing and actuation, and on-site production of infrastructure. Previous work has shown methods of directly producing shaped honeycombs by cutting and folding flat sheets of material. This research extends these methods by demonstrating work towards a continuous process for the cutting and folding steps of this process. An algorithm for producing a manufacturable cut-and-fold pattern from a three-dimensional volume is designed, and a machine for automatically performing the required cutting and parallel folding is proposed and prototyped. The accuracy of the creases placed by this machine is characterized and the impact of creasing order is demonstrated. Finally, a prototype part is produced and future work is sketched towards full process automation.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 6424
Author(s):  
Cheng-Hung Huang ◽  
Chih-Yang Kuo

A non-linear three-dimensional inverse shape design problem was investigated for a pipe type heat exchanger to estimate the design variables of continuous lateral ribs on internal Z-shape lateral fins for maximum thermal performance factor η. The design variables were considered as the positions, heights, and number of ribs while the physical properties of air were considered as a polynomial function of temperature; this makes the problem non-linear. The direct problem was solved using software package CFD-ACE+, and the Levenberg–Marquardt method (LMM) was utilized as the optimization tool because it has been proven to be a powerful algorithm for solving inverse problems. Z-shape lateral fins were found to be the best thermal performance among Z-shape, S-shape, and V-shape lateral fins. The objective of this study was to include continuous lateral ribs to Z-shape lateral fins to further improve η. Firstly, the numerical solutions of direct problem were solved using both polynomial and constant air properties and then compared with the corrected solutions to verify the necessity for using polynomial air properties. Then, four design cases, A, B, C and D, based on various design variables were conducted numerically, and the resultant η values were computed and compared. The results revealed that considering continuous lateral ribs on the surface of Z-shape lateral fins can indeed improve η value at the design working condition Re = 5000. η values of designs A, B and C were approximately 13% higher than that for Z-shape lateral fins, however, when the rib numbers were increased, i.e., design D, the value of η became only 11.5 % higher. This implies that more ribs will not guarantee higher η value.


Author(s):  
Feihu Zhao ◽  
Yi Xiong ◽  
Keita Ito ◽  
Bert van Rietbergen ◽  
Sandra Hofmann

Mechanobiology research is for understanding the role of mechanics in cell physiology and pathology. It will have implications for studying bone physiology and pathology and to guide the strategy for regenerating both the structural and functional features of bone. Mechanobiological studies in vitro apply a dynamic micro-mechanical environment to cells via bioreactors. Porous scaffolds are commonly used for housing the cells in a three-dimensional (3D) culturing environment. Such scaffolds usually have different pore geometries (e.g. with different pore shapes, pore dimensions and porosities). These pore geometries can affect the internal micro-mechanical environment that the cells experience when loaded in the bioreactor. Therefore, to adjust the applied micro-mechanical environment on cells, researchers can tune either the applied load and/or the design of the scaffold pore geometries. This review will provide information on how the micro-mechanical environment (e.g. fluid-induced wall shear stress and mechanical strain) is affected by various scaffold pore geometries within different bioreactors. It shall allow researchers to estimate/quantify the micro-mechanical environment according to the already known pore geometry information, or to find a suitable pore geometry according to the desirable micro-mechanical environment to be applied. Finally, as future work, artificial intelligent – assisted techniques, which can achieve an automatic design of solid porous scaffold geometry for tuning/optimising the micro-mechanical environment are suggested.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document