A visionary and logical approach to product configuration

Real products consist of physical objects in three-dimensional space. The design of individual customer specific solutions with real objects is extremely expensive. Therefore the designer uses models to realize his ideas and concepts. Having them not in physical but in virtual form saves money and is much more flexible and thus saves time during the design phase. However, a good imagination of the model is an important requirement, which nowadays can be fulfilled making use of 3D computer graphics. These 3D models are not only static but can also be included in dynamic scenarios enabling simulation and animation, which facilitate decision making processes. Having good 3D models of the real objects make the task of judging their interaction much easier but still leaves this task to the user. However many of the rules that are imposed to the objects may be expressed making use of first order logic. Modern logic systems do not only allow the check for consistency but also suggest legal alternatives. Both the logic systems and the 3D computer graphics applications have made large progress in the last decade, however, as independent developments. Joining these separate efforts into a combined framework gives exciting possibilities for customer specific product configuration and presentation