Visualization of Motion Envelope of Parts and Assemblies Based on Simulation or Measurement Data

Paper in proceeding, 2006

As the demand on productivity in the manufacturing industry increases, it’s important with tools that shorten the time from concept to production. Visualization has become a popular tool for fast and easy verification regarding many aspects of products in the design phase. In this paper an algorithm is developed to calculate and visualize the total volume in space a part or assembly creates when it is affected by displacement or motion. The algorithm is general and works on all kinds of problem where there is variation or motion involved. The data used to create the total volume is either collected from simulation data or from real measurement data. This paper includes an introduction and background to the problem and a deep explanation of the suggested algorithm. Finally the algorithm is used to visualize the motion envelope of a car engine based on real measurement data. The data and engine is collected from a well known car manufacturer. The result shows that the suggested method for visualization is useful in early phases for design, packaging and tolerance analysis.