Automated Tolerance Optimization Using Feature-driven, Production Operation-based Cost Models

The work addresses two important issues in computer-aided tolerancing: automated generation of design specific cost-to-design-tolerance models and automation of design optimization in tolerance synthesis. These are accomplished by assembling generic, production operation-based, cost-tomanufacturing-tolerance models, based upon the mechanical features of a design and their minimum-cost manufacturing processes. The task is carried out through multiple level optimizations and the application of a knowledge-based intelligent system to form the optimization problems. A typical tolerance design example, under the concurrent engineering principle, is used to illustrate the introduced method.