The vocabulary describes the ontologies of engineering knowledge and is the fundamental part of graph-based design languages. The words in the vocabulary are the building blocks from which the design is constructed. Encoded as a class diagram, the vocabulary contains all the necessary components and provides a comprehensive framework for the design process.
The design rules represent the generic compositional statements of a graph-based design language, facilitating the model transformations necessary to generate the product design. Rules instantiate and operate on the individual words from the vocabulary, facilitating the manipulation and arrangement of design objects. Represented in an extended instance diagram, design rules provide a systematic approach to executable design creation and evolution.
The Production System acts as an programme of design processes within the graph-based design language. Encoded in an activity diagram, it co-ordinates the execution process of design rules. The production system streamlines the engineering design process, enabling a compiler to automatically generate a holistic digital product model known as the design graph.
The Design Compiler is a mechanical rule engine that computes a holistic graph model of a product or system from a graph-based design language. The compiler interprets the execution process of the design rules of the design language defined in the production system as a sequence of graph transformations. The execution is fully automatic and deterministic as the result of the compilation is the so-called design graph.
The Design Graph is the holistic model of the product design automatically generated from from the Design Language. The Design Graph consists of instances and links of the classes and associations defined in the vocabulary and contains all parts, connections and parameters of the product. The Design Graph is an openly accessible abstract graph representation of the product and allows the visualisation of various product aspects or the algorithm-supported extraction of domain-specific product models.
Design Interfaces are supplementary software add-ons that translate the abstract product knowledge stored in the design graph into actual domain models of the system for analysis or further (manual) design. As all models are translated from a central abstract design representation, a consistent model state across different engineering domains is ensured. By automating the creation of domain models, the design and change process is significantly accelerated and made more robust. In principle, translation can be performed for any domain, making the design process with graph-based design languages independent of specific tool vendors or data formats.
Design Exploration describes the integrated system development process using graph-based design languages. Due to their generic approach, design languages enable a holistic and consistent description of the product design along the product lifecycle from requirements to manufacturing. In combination with a design compiler, the open product graph model and the algorithm-based design interfaces, a continuous automated process chain can be established for the design of complex systems. This enables the realisation of an executable V-model design process. Automated generation of product versions and variants significantly accelerates design cycles, enabling systematic and efficient exploration of the entire design space. The overall result is shorter overall development times, cost reductions and improvements in product quality.
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