Post-silicon conformance checking with virtual prototypes

This study presents a methodology used in the design certification of a battery module for electric vehicle applications. The methodology combines virtual and physical techniques to assess the structure under mechanical shock testing, according to the standards’ requirements. Virtual prototyping is used to quantify parameters as stresses and deformations. Performed simulations using the virtual prototype are validated by testing the physical prototype, which allows for assessing various design parameters with a high level of confidence. The testing of a physical prototype is performed using specialized equipment—a mechanical shock test bench—which is developed and manufactured especially for this task. The presented methodology is demonstrated in an industrial use case, and the main contribution of this study is related to the way the combination of virtual and physical prototyping and testing is used.

A layer-based virtual prototyping system for product development

This paper presents a formal approach that addresses the reciprocal robots collision avoidance, where two robots need to avoid collisions with each other, while moving in a common workspace. Based on our formulation, each physical robot acts fully independently, communicating with the corresponding virtual prototype and imitating its behavior. Each physical robot reproduces the pathway of its virtual prototype. With a view to collision avoidance, it is necessary to detect a possible collision. This action includes the potentially intersecting regions test of the corresponding virtual prototypes. The estimation of the collision-free actions on the virtual robots and the collaborative work of the physical robots which imitate their virtual prototypes are the original ideas. Based on potentially intersecting regions of the virtual robots, we identified a collision-free motion corridor for two cooperative robots. Using the definition of velocity obstacles, we derived sufficient conditions for the collision-free motion of the two virtual robots. We tested the present approach on several complex simulation scenarios involving two virtual robots and estimating collision-free actions for each of them during the cooperative tasks. The focus of this paper is the identification of the collision-free actions for two virtual robots and their behavioral imitation by the physical robots.

The proficiency of Computer Aided Design (CAD) to save, communicate and render realistic virtual prototypes allows for easier communication and review of proposed design decisions via design reviews. However, the use of virtual prototypes is limited by the realism of the human computer interface. This paper builds on previous research investigating if increasing the realism of input and output interactions between subjects and virtual prototypes will affect user’s ability to analyze an assembly for errors. For this end, two experiments were conducted which asked participants to perform design reviews on assembly models and identify errors in the assembly. The first experiment tested virtual prototype output display factors through subject point of view movement and virtual prototype rotation. The second experiment tested human input factors using different controller setups. It is expected the more realistic virtual prototype rendering and controller input experience will result in more accurate design reviews.

Dynamic Simulation analysis of mechanical system based on the virtual prototyping technology can be used to simulate the actual working condition of machines to be designed. It can shorten the product development cycle by providing convenient amendments to the virtual prototype in accordance with the results of simulation. In this paper, the virtual prototype of the crank-connecting rod mechanism of mud pump was built by using the software Pro/Engineer, then the model was imported into the virtual prototyping software —ADAMS. At the same time, the restrictions and the driving mode were applied to simulate the kinematic process according to the multi-body system dynamics theory. Thus the whole dynamic analysis process of the virtual prototype was completed. Though the process, the movement process graphs such as displacement, velocity and acceleration of the piston were obtained, which validated the availability of the movement model. The design process and methodology adopted in this paper can be a valuable reference for the design and development of similar products.

This paper proposes a dexel‐based virtual prototyping system, which builds a virtual prototype with dexels or rectangular strips of solid. The approach resembles the physical fabrication process of most powder‐based rapid prototyping (RP) systems. It simulates an RP process to create a virtual prototype. Colour virtual prototypes may also be fabricated relatively easily. Thus, the designer can perform design validation and accuracy analysis easily in a virtual environment as if using a physical prototype. In addition to numeric quantification of the RP process, the system provides vivid visualisations of the prototype for studying its characteristics. Furthermore, the prototype may be superimposed on the product model, and the areas with dimensional errors beyond design limits may be clearly highlighted for subsequent improvement. The designer may thus analyse and compare the surface texture point‐by‐point of the prototype with the product design.

In the design process of complex systems, the use of physical prototypes presents many drawbacks in terms of both costs and time. Virtual prototyping tools allow instead the designer to extensively study the system behavior in a variety of configurations, providing the possibility of performing focussed tests and comparing the effectiveness of different solutions before the physical realization of the prototype. When building the virtual prototype, the choice of a suitable model for each of the interacting components is crucial for achieving reliable results. In the simulation of racing vehicles, such as cars or motorcycles, it is common practice to represent the engine torque by means of stationary maps depending on a finite number of constant values of the throttle fraction and the rotational speed of the crankshaft. Although simple to implement and characterize, such model cannot reproduce dynamic transients, and therefore may not be adequate when a detailed analysis of the vehicle behavior is required. In this paper we present the characterization and identification of a nonlinear dynamic model for a two-stroke internal combustion high-performance engine, to be used in the ADAMS multibody virtual prototyping environment. The model is obtained by using neural networks and validated on experimental data

Research on key technologies of complex product virtual prototype lifecycle management (CPVPLM)

In order to reduce muzzle disturbance of gun, establish virtual prototype of a type of howitzer based on complex factors such as mass eccentricity of recoil parts, soil stiffness and damping, clearance of elevating mechanism, stiffness and damping of papilionaceous spring. Use velocity and angular velocity to reflect muzzle disturbance, then examine, simulate and analyze the virtual prototype. According to the simulation results, the virtual prototype including clearance and papilionaceous spring of elevating mechanism can reflect actual launch process and dynamics performance. Orthogonal Design Method is introduced to design simulation experimentation so as to obtain the sample couple. The back propagation algorithm is used to study and train the sample couple based on artificial neural network, then the nonlinearity relation was achieved between the design parameter and performance index. Establish the objective function, then the appropriate optimization arithmetic can be used to optimize vital parameters to reduce muzzle disturbance independent of virtual prototyping technology. Moreover, it can provide theoretical guide for optimization of muzzle disturbance.

An assessment of pictographic instructions derived from a virtual prototype to support construction assembly procedures

The exoskeleton robot enhances the wearer's strength and plays an important role in various applications such as disaster relief, battlefield, rehabilitation, etc. The hydraulic system is often used to actuate the locomotion robotics for the advantages of high power-to-mass ratio, large force output, and so on. In this paper, the dynamic simulation of a hydraulic-driven exoskeleton robot is presented. Based on virtual prototyping, the controller and the parameters of the hydraulic system are determined and verified by modeling the driven system in AMESim, while the robot dynamic behavior is analyzed by building the robot dynamic model in ADAMS. The model of the prime mover, an IC engine, is simplified to reflect its torque-speed property rather than the complicated physical and chemical changes in the combustion cycle. In the simulation, the controller is determined first by employing a sufficient constant flow source to replace the engine model and the pump. Then the parameters of the hydraulic system are verified based on the determined controller. Lastly, the dynamic behavior of the exoskeleton robot is predicted by tracking the input reference from the Clinical Gait Analysis (CGA) data. The simulation results indicate that the designed exoskeleton robot can achieve expected working conditions. Experiments are set up on the exoskeleton robot prototype to validate the virtual prototype. The agreement of the results from simulation and experiments confirms that the virtual prototype predicts the dynamic behavior of the exoskeleton robot reliably.

Virtual prototyping practice and technologies are developing fast and moving from the traditional industrial sectors that have pushed their development (automotive, aeronautical) to new sectors, like the fashion sector, that is far from them, but anyway economically important. The concept of Virtual Prototyping has been built upon a bottom up approach. Tools oriented to different phases of the product development process (CAD, CAM, CAE, etc.) have been developed separately, without any intersection or anything in common among them, except for the idea that the geometrical model of the object is the reference point for the all phases. Actually, each of these tools simulates a single aspect/characteristic of the future product: the shape, the appearance, the manufacturability, the strain, the physical behaviour, etc. On top of them, Virtual Prototyping was developed with multiple aims. First, it aimed at integrating into a unique “object” all the characteristics that are uniquely formalised, and that can be uniquely simulated, so allowing an integration of all the interrelations among the all product aspects. Another characteristic of Virtual Prototyping concerns its use in validation. This has raised the need to make compatible the context where the prototype can or could be virtually operating, in terms of digital modelling. Therefore, the Virtual Prototype can be seen as a correlated set of dedicated models able to simulate specific aspects and models of interaction modalities. The paper presents the key aspects of Virtual Prototyping and enabling technologies in the fashion sector, presenting their benefits and the shortcomings that still require research and development.

With a high load capacity compared with other types of piling machines; the piling machine with extruding arms has found wider application in civil engineering construction in recent years. However, due to the complexity of soil mechanic analysis, which is a key component in the development of piling machine products, it turns to be difficult to determine the design constraints. Automatic dynamic analysis of mechanical system, based on the virtual prototyping technology, can be used to simulate the actual working condition of machines to be designed. It shortens the product development cycle by providing convenient amendments to the virtual prototype in accordance with the results of simulation. To begin with, this paper builds the virtual prototype of a new type of piling machine with extruding arms. Thereafter, the load distribution exerted on the extruding arms during the extruding action, and the force curve of the extruding arms are obtained by the theoretical analysis of soil mechanics. Finally, taking the actual working condition into consideration, a kinetic and dynamic simulation analysis of the virtual prototype is made using software ADAMS and a further discussion is presented. The design process and methodology adopted in this paper can be a valuable reference for the design and development of similar products.

Currently, ubiquitous systems, whose mission is to control peripheral hardware and to interact with peripheral environment, are widely used in various fields such as home appliance, medical device, vehicle, and so on. In developer’s viewpoint, it is difficult to set up the hardware and operational environment required for the system during software development. Virtual prototyping approach can be used for simulating hardware and operational environment of embedded software. However, cost and effort required for developing virtual prototyping are very high. Furthermore, related supporting tools have some limitations such as detailed representation, dynamic performance, modifiability, and so on. In this paper, we propose an SWF based virtual prototyping framework for implementing virtual prototype in embedded systems. And our experiment conducted for showing the applicability of our approach in real world. Our approach also supports advanced simulation and multi-dimensional analysis during software development process for embedded systems.

Virtual prototyping of mold design: geometric mouldability analysis for near-net-shape manufactured parts by feature recognition and geometric reasoning