Apparatus and method for computer-aided design of sheet metal fabricated parts

Claim 2

An interactive computer-aided design system for designing mechanical parts, the system comprising: input means for sequentially receiving from a designer a plurality of items of data descriptive of a desired mechanical part; storage means for receiving and storing a plurality of parameters descriptive of an available manufacturing apparatus, at least one of which describes a tooling constraint; computing means operative as each item of data is received from the designer to automatically test whether the desired mechanical part as described by the received items of data satisfies each of a plurality of the parameters which have been stored in the storage means, including one of the tooling constraints; and output means for communicating the results of the test to the designer such that if the part fails to satisfy any of the parameters the designer can modify any of the received items of data, the computing means being operative to perform the test again after an item of data has been modified.

Claim 3

A system according to claim 1 wherein the storage means also receives and stores a parameter descriptive of a design rule and wherein the computing means performs the test by determining whether the desired part satisfies the design rule.

Claim 4

A system according to claim 1 wherein a tooling constraint comprises information descriptive of a fabrication tool and wherein the computing means performs the test by determining whether any of a plurality of fabrication tools described by information in the storage means can be used to fabricate the desired part.

Claim 5

A system according to claim 3 wherein the computing means determines whether any of the tools can be used by computing a criterion, selecting a tool which meets the criterion, and testing whether the desired part can be fabricated by the selected tool.

Claim 6

A system according to claim 3 wherein the computing means performs the test by determining whether any combination of the tools described by information in the storage means can be used to fabricate the desired part.

Claim 7

A system according to claim 1 wherein: the part is characterized by a plurality of surfaces and a required angular relationship between the surfaces; a tooling constraint comprises information descriptive of a fabrication tool; and the computing means performs the test by determining whether any of a plurality of fabrication tools described by information in the storage means can be used to bend a sheet of material to satisfy any required relationships among surfaces of the desired part.

Claim 8

A system according to claim 6 wherein the computing means determines whether any of the tools can be used by computing a criterion, selecting a tool which meets the criterion, and testing whether the selected tool can be used to bend the material to satisfy one of the required relationships.

Claim 9

A system according to claim 7 wherein the criterion is determined by physical dimensions of the desired part.

Claim 10

An interactive method of designing a mechanical part, the method comprising: sequentially receiving a plurality of items of data descriptive of a desired mechanical part; storing a plurality of parameters descriptive of an available manufacturing apparatus, at least one of which describes a tooling constraint; as each item of data is received, automatically testing whether the part as described by the received items of data satisfies each of a plurality of the parameters, including one of the tooling constraints; communicating the results of the test such that if the part fails to satisfy any of the parameters any of the items of data can be modified; and performing the test again after an item of data has been modified.

Claim 11

An interactive method of designing a mechanical part, the method comprising: sequentially receiving a plurality of items of data descriptive of a desired mechanical part; storing a plurality of parameters descriptive of an available manufacturing apparatus, at least one of which describes a tooling constraint; as each item of data is received, automatically testing whether the part as described by the received items of data satisfies each of a plurality of the parameters, including one of the tooling constraints; communicating the results of the test such that if the part fails to satisfy any of the parameters any of the items of data can be modified; and performing the test again after an item of data has been modified.

Claim 12

A method according to claim 9 wherein a tooling constraint comprises information descriptive of a fabrication tool and wherein testing comprises determining whether any of a plurality of fabrication tools described by information in the storage means can be used to fabricated the desired part.

Claim 13

A method according to claim 9 wherein: the part is characterized by a plurality of surfaces and a required angular relationship between the surfaces; a tooling constraint comprises information descriptive of a fabrication tool; and the test performed by determining whether any of a plurality of fabrication tools described by information in the storage means can be used to bend a sheet of material to satisfy any required relationships among surfaces of the desired part.

Claim 14

A method according to claim 11 wherein determining whether a tool can be used comprises: computing a criterion; selecting a tool which meets the criterion; and testing whether the selected tool can be used to bend the material to satisfy one of the required relationships.

Claim 15

A method according to claim 12 wherein the criterion is computed according to a physical parameter of the desired part.

Claim 16

A method according to claim 9 wherein the step of storing a plurality of parameters further comprises storing a parameter descriptive of a design rule and wherein the test is performed by determining whether the part satisfies the design rule.

Claim 17

A method according to claim 9 wherein a tooling constraint comprises information descriptive of a fabrication tool and wherein testing comprises determine whether any combination of the tools described by information in the storage means can be used to fabricate the desired part.

Claim 18

A computer-aided design system for designing a mechanical part to be fabricated by bending a sheet of material, the system comprising: (a) input means for receiving data descriptive of a plurality of surfaces of a desired mechanical part and any required angular relationships among the surfaces; (b) storage means for receiving and storing a plurality parameters descriptive of fabrication tools; (c) computing means responsive to data received by the input means to automatically test whether a desired mechanical part described by the data satisfies any of the parameters in the storage means by: selecting one of the required angular relationships, generating a representation of an expanded part similar to the desired part but in which the selected angular relationship has been flattened, selecting one of the tools, generating a representation of an expanded tool similar to the selected tool but in which the tool has been expanded, superimposing the representation of the expanded tool and the representation of the expanded part such that a bending axis of the expanded tool is adjacent the selected angular relationship of the expanded part, and determining whether the superimposed representations overlap; and (d) output means for communicating the results of the test.

Claim 19

A computer-aided design system for designing a mechanical part to be fabricated by bending a sheet of material, the system comprising: (a) input means for receiving data descriptive of a plurality of surfaces of a desired mechanical part and any required angular relationships among the surfaces; (b) storage means for receiving and storing a plurality parameters descriptive of fabrication tools; (c) computing means responsive to data received by the input means to automatically test whether a desired mechanical part described by the data satisfies any of the parameters in the storage means by: selecting one of the required angular relationships, generating a representation of an expanded part similar to the desired part but in which the selected angular relationship has been flattened, selecting one of the tools, generating a representation of an expanded tool similar to the selected tool but in which the tool has been expanded, superimposing the representation of the expanded tool and the representation of the expanded part such that a bending axis of the expanded tool is adjacent the selected angular relationship of the expanded part, and determining whether the superimposed representations overlap; and (d) output means for communicating the results of the test.