KNOWLEDGE-BASED SYSTEM MODEL OF THE DESIGN PROCESS.

The functional characteristics of design objects can be represented in a form of data and mathematical procedures, and heuristics. Using knowledge trees the mechanical components can be designed by decomposing them into their smallest parts, therefore, isolating and simplifying the design. The design can then be carried out by propagating the constraints through the levels of the knowledge trees to integrate the results. Since much of the design is redesign, the inheritance of the previously gained knowledge can be utilized by applying the new design requirements and constraints. This will provide an intelligent redesign process. This work presents an approach taken to apply knowledge-based expert systems strategies into the engineering design process. The prototype implementation of the model is in the LISP Language on a personal computer.