Informal and formal modelling of engineering processes for design automation using knowledge based engineering

Knowledge based engineering (KBE) as a design method helps formulate a comprehensive knowledge base as a virtual prototype which includes design intent, requirements, rationale, and logic along with geometric information, which can then be utilised for representing the product design process, and to achieve complex design automation. One of the identified shortcomings in the field of design process automation using KBE as a holistic approach is a suitable neutral representation technique of a process model with well-defined syntax, axioms, and semantics for it to be shared across multiple platforms and to enable interoperability. To achieve design process automation, two steps are very important. First, a modelling method should be able to informally capture all critical aspects of a process to enable design automation. Second, the informal model should be able to be mapped onto a formal representation technique in a system, which will then enable automation by running a query through this representation. This paper discusses all the critical aspects in the form of design decomposition features and narrows down informal modelling approaches based on the criteria formulated for design automation from the literature. Formal representation techniques are discussed with the help of an example to ensure correct mapping of the informal model to a formal representation. The next steps of this research would be recommendation of the formal representation techniques of the informal model based on the discussion in this paper and for future work that will enable process automation. © 2015, Zhejiang University and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg