Application of a knowledge-based intelligent system to the engineering product design process

摘要

To improve competitiveness, industrial companies have to reduce cost and environmental impact while improving safety and reliability in design and manufacture of their products. Selecting the most effective design option is usually time-consuming; late decisions may eventually jeopardise the balance of the whole project. Because the processes of design assessment are very complex and the data and information available at the early design stage may not be complete for decision-making in many circumstances, it may be extremely difficult to assess the design options due to the great uncertainty involved. Approximate logic analysis which usually involves Fuzzy Set Theory, may be more appropriate to analyse incomplete information. An approximate logic approach has demonstrated its usefulness and accuracy in assessing design option under combinations of conditions. This paper presents the development of a knowledge based intelligent system using approximate logic approaches for modelling various design variables for engineering product design based decision-making at the design stage.