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Creating flexible and automated production facilities is a complex process that requires high levels of cooperation involving all mechatronics disciplines, where software tools being utilised have to work as closely as their users. Some of these tools are well-integrated but others can hardly exchange any data. This research aims to integrate the software systems applied by the mechatronic engineering disciplines to enable an enhanced design process characterised by a more parallel and iterative work flow. This thesis approaches systems integration from a data modelling point of view because it sees information transfer between heterogeneous data models as a key element of systems integration. A new approach has been developed which is called middle-in data modelling strategy since it is a combination of currently applied top-down and bottom-up approaches. It includes the separation of data into core design data which is modelled top-down and detailed design data modules which are modelled bottom-up. The effectiveness of the integration approach has been demonstrated in a case study undertaken for the mechatronic engineering design process of body shop production lines in the automotive industry. However, the application of the middle-in data modelling strategy is not limited to this use case: it can be used to enhance a variety of system integration tasks. The middle-in data modelling strategy is tested and evaluated in comparison with present top-down and bottom-up data modelling strategies on the basis of three test cases. These test cases simulated how the systems integration solutions based on the different data modelling strategies react to certain disturbances in the data exchange process as they would likely occur during industrial engineering design work. The result is that the top-down data modelling strategy is best in maintaining data integrity and consistency while the bottom-up strategy is most flexibly adaptable to further developments of systems integration solutions. The middle-in strategy combines the advantages of top-down and bottom-up approaches while their weaknesses and disadvantages are kept at a minimum. Hence, it enables the maintenance of data modelling consistency while being responsive to multidisciplinary requirements and adaptive during its step-by-step introduction into an industrial engineering process.

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: AP230 of STEP is an application protocol for structural steel-framed buildings. Product data relating to steel structures is represented in a model that captures analysis, design and manufacturing views. The information requirements described in AP230 were analysed with the purpose of identifying a subset of entities that are essential for the description of simple industrial steel frames with the view to being able to describe the structural concept, and to perform the structural analysis and design of such structures. Having identified the essential entities, a relational database model for these entities was developed. Planning, analysis and design applications will use the database to collaboratively exchange data relating to the structure. The comprehensiveness of the database model was investigated by mapping a simple industrial frame to the database model. Access to the database is provided by a set of classes called the database representative classes. The data-representatives are instances that have the same selection identifiers and attributes as corresponding information units in the database. The datarepresentatives' primary tasks are to store themselves in the database and to retrieve their state from the database. A graphical user interface application, programmed in Java, used for the description of the structural concept with the capacity of storing the concept in the database and retrieving it again through the use of the database representative classes was also created as part of this project. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: AP230 van STEP is 'n toepassingsprotokol wat staal raamwerke beskryf. Die produkdata ter beskrywing van staal strukture word saamgevat in 'n model wat analise, ontwerp en vervaardigings oogmerke in aanmerking neem. Die informasie vereistes, soos beskryf in AP230, is geanaliseer om 'n subset van entiteite te identifiseer wat noodsaaklik is vir die beskrywing van 'n eenvoudige nywerheidsstruktuur om die strukturele konsep te beskryf en om die struktuur te analiseer en te ontwerp. Nadat die essensiële entiteite geïdentifiseer is, is 'n relasionele databasismodel van die entiteite geskep. Beplanning, analise en ontwerptoepassings maak van die databasis gebruik om kollaboratief data oor strukture uit te ruil. Die omvattenheid van die databasis-model is ondersoek deur 'n eenvoudige nywerheidsstruktuur daarop afte beeld. Toegang tot die databasis word verskaf deur 'n groep Java klasse wat bekend staan as die verteenwoordigende databasis klasse. Hierdie databasis-verteenwoordigers is instansies met dieselfde identifikasie eienskappe as die ooreenkomstige informasie eenhede in die databasis. Die hoofdoel van die databasis-verteenwoordigers is om hulself in die databasis te stoor asook om hul rang weer vanuit die databasis te verkry. 'n Grafiese gebruikerskoppelvlak, geprogrammeer in Java, is ontwikkel. Die koppelvlak word gebruik om die strukturele konsep te beskryf, dit te stoor na die databasis en om dit weer, met behulp van die databasis-verteenwoordigers, uit die databasis te haal.

published_or_final_version / Electrical Engineering / Master / Master of Science in Engineering

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Thesis (B.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING / Bibliography: leaf 47. / by John Christopher Moran. / B.S.

by Joseph G. Kimemia, Stanley B. Gershwin. / "August 1981." / National Science Foundation Grant DAR78-17826

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