Design for manufacturability: a feature-based agent-driven approach

Extensions to mechanical feature-based design and design for manufacturabil ity are presented that adopt the increasingly recognized multiagent paradig m. This approach uses autonomous agents to implement each form feature insi de the model being created, thus leading to the creation of a new type of a ctive product model. Designers add new features to their designs by populat ing a living community of agents that construct the model, therefore creati ng an active product program as opposed to the traditional passive product data. Feature agents are self-scheduled autonomous entities, able to exchange dat a with one another and with a degree of self-control over their own geometr ic data. Using simple manufacturability criteria, each feature agent endles sly applies its embedded knowledge to ensure its own local manufacturabilit y. A global behaviour emerges from the agents' activity inside the model th at optimizes the global manufacturability of the component being designed.