State Of The Art R04

State of the Art Integrated and Automated CAD/CAM Software for the Metal Building System A. J. Yang | S.E. Yang Shan Shu Yuan Shanghai 20060825

Industry Background 1990-2006

Market: The Target Market for the MBS Industry

Manufacturing,

Distribution,

Community,

Religious,

Sporting Facility,

Aircraft Hangar,

Recreational,

Office,

Retail,

Mini-Warehouse,

Educational,

Medical Clinic,

… .

Metal Building System: Members and the System

Main Frame,

Endwall Frame, Crane, Mezzanine

Secondary Frame

Wall/Roof Panel System

Other Wall System

Building Accessories

Manufacturing Tech.: The Production Process of the Metal Building System

Main Frame

Manufacturing Tech.: The Production Process of the Metal Building System (Continued)

Secondary Structure & Panels

Manufacturing Tech.: The Production Process of the Metal Building System (Continued)

Other Products in the System

The Differences: The Particular Themes Separate the Industry from Others

Mass production , repeated procedure for engineering and manufacturing

Lower price, higher profit

Faster track engineering, manufacturing and delivery with higher quality

Unlimited application possible when the above three rules achieved

The Differences: The Particular Themes Separate the Industry from Others (Continued)

New Tech.

The strongest demand (and consumer) for latest CAD/CAM technologies in such a traditional industry

Single Source Manufacturer

Products line specification, machinery development, design, detailing, production…

Highly integration workflow in quotation, design, engineering, production, material stock, PM…

Special Manufacturing Machinery

Particular equipments, products line predefined and standardization, punched and coded joints, minimum special holes per case, minimum shop drawing achieved…

Special Design and Engineering Practice

Later developed structural analysis theories and optimizing algorithm which is not commonly mentioned in text books and clearly specified in industrial standards and codes

Laterally braced plate girder frame, lapped purlin, cold formed truss, floor vibration, complex wind load coefficient, …

Special CAD/CAM Software

Most sophistic and effective software system developed by internal PRD department, historically and theoretically

Software Architecture Company knowledge based automated design system

Workflow over Teams Sales Engineer Estimator Detailer P. M. Production Buyout Delivery

Software Output

Quotation/Sales:

Cost estimating, foundation data, architecture expression and collaboration with other professions…

Structural Design:

A thoroughly and detailed design report

Details and Production Engineering:

Erection DWG, Shop DWG and CNC files, Plate Nesting, BOM, labeling, manifest, packing list…

Remote Teams Collaborations:

Workflow database, Revising, Remote release…

Modules Targeted Structural Design Detail and Production Engineering Workflow Contract Control ERP Complexity Control Schedule Control Project Spec. Architecture Representation Foundation Design Material Optimizing Purchase Control BOM CNC Buyouts Labeling Manifest Packing List Estimating Quotation File Database

Module : Structural Optimizing

Structural system pre-defined

Rigid frame

Roof purlin, wall girt

Endwall frame

Crane beam

Bracing

Mezzanine

…

FEA

Optimizing algorithm

UI

Output, revising

Module: Engineering for Details and Production

Pre-defined members, products module

Main Frame

Secondary structures

Panels

Standard accessories

…

Design logic => Object relations (lisp or C++)

Model built

Visual check

Collaboration

Output, revising

Complexity of the model

Before the PC

Present

Future

Company Knowledge How the Company Knowledge Embedded in a Software System Expert System or Artificial Intelligence Static or Dynamic Details Engineering Logic Object Relations and Predefined Algorithm (Lisp or C++) Predefined Members Predefined Products Module Predefined Rules A Downstream Developing Frame for the Detail and Production Module at proven output format

Software Documentations

Getting Started Guide for Novice User

Software Package User Manual / Software Package Administration Manual Sample Job Detailed Report

Standard and Complex

Advised Practice for Cases beyond the Defined Standards

User Manual Third party documents (Developing platform, commercial components) Other Development and Maintenance Records References Descriptions of Each Module Source Files with Detailed Comments and References Revising Logs for Maintenance/ Revising Logs for End Users Software Resource Manual for Products Line Definition Manual for Structural Design Manual for Detailed Engineering Practices for Production and Erection Descriptions for static and dynamic linked details Company Knowledge

The Differences Separated them from Others

Company knowledge based expert system

Automated design

Redundancy data minimized

Proven output

Highly integrated to manufacturing

Frequently updated when any adjustment needed

Downstream developing method

History The engine of modern PEMB industry

Yearbook:

1960’s

1970’s

1980’s

1990’s

2000’s -

Milestones of the Development:

Interface difference from the beginning:

Minimum key-in

Highest efficient

Algorithm:

Design

Detailing and modeling

2D and 3D

Develop Platform:

Basic => Fortran => C => C++;

Lisp, C++

3D Modeler

Features:

Rigid frame FEA only and beyond

Automated design when PC and ADS available

Next generation software

Some Stories & Experiences:

Portal Frame vs. Metal Building System

Pre-Engineered vs. Precision Engineered

The era before PC

Autosteel

Synercom Technologies Inc., 1971,1995

Pronto, Advantage…

BMC, 1989, 1995

EDS, XDS

RCC, 1993, 1999

Present In-house development vs. Outsourcing

In-house Developed System MBS Manufacturers’ in-house developed CAD/CAM System

RCC => NCI

Zamilsteel

Butler

VP

ABC

Developing Tools

Design++

Pride of Finland

Developing Tools (Continued)

Lisp Generator

y = 3 sin x / 5.0 y = 3 * sin(x) / 5.0 y is 3 times sin(x) over 5.0 y equals three times the sine of x divided by five (setq y (/ (* 3 (sin x)) 5.0))

The Commercial Vendor

Questware

MBS

Loseke

Future Company knowledge will be embedded in new platform

New Tech.: Attractive features from contemporary structural analysis programs ( STAAD, RISA, RAM )

Graphic editing capability

snap-to and many other powerful function

Complex FE modeling

Dynamic Analysis

Real Moving Loads

Plate Element for Bracing

…

Contemporary platform

…

…

…

New Tech.: Challenges to use these commercial structural analysis programs

Tapered Member

No real tapered plate girder correctly specified (e.g. closer outside flange bracing for bigger downloads and looser inside flange bracing for smaller uploads)

Cold Formed Steel

No real cold formed purlin correctly specified (e.g. Lap different length to get different rigidness, complex lateral bracing for cold formed section)

MBS need special optimizing algorithm which is not available in commercial packages

Typically, no predefined structural system (Exclude RISA Tower…)

Other limits…

New Tech.: Attractive features from contemporary 3D steel detailing programs ( Tekla Structures, SDS/2, StruCAD )

A visual 3D Surface Model: two point defined a line, a line with section defined a closed surface

A loose constrain geometry database separate them from other 3D mechanical design system

Power 3D editing capability of the geometry model

The model can as complex as you can imagine, not just the standard unit

Define the whole model in one database, define each member/part as an independent geometry and mapping the 2D drafting directly from the 3D model

Typically wider consumer market targeted, more programmers and support engineers involved in developing and maintenance and better procedure quality control, new technologies can be adopted faster

New Tech.: Challenges to adopt these commercial 3D detailing programs

They are all end products for general (and conventional) applications, not a development platform

No tapered plate girder can be correctly specified

No lapped purlin/girts can be defined correctly

No metal panel can be defined efficiently

Typically, standard building accessories cannot be integrated or linked in the 3D model efficiently,

As each the geometry are independent, two many redundancy data output are typically generated by the 3D detailing system.

The mapping method of the 2D drawing output makes the desired out look of erection and shop drawing very (very!!!) difficult to be setting at the user interface,

Some Considerations on these Affairs:

They are all end products for general (and conventional) applications, not a development platform , the fundamental custom development will not be available recently

A special object as the real tapered plate girder shall be correctly specified (the geometry model of flat welded plate girder is quite complex, the current line-section method cannot be well defined)

A special object as the real lapped purlin/girts shall be defined correctly with the CNC pre-punch definition

Typically the joints are standardized and coded for the predefined structural detail

Geometry database of each system are propertied, standard building accessories cannot be integrated or linked in the 3D model efficiently, some fundamental geometry format shall be revised to be compatible with the current industrial standard surface or solid objects. Pre-engineered details is a tradition in this industry.

Further, a special object as the metal panel shall be defined

As each the geometry are independent, two many redundancy data output are typically generated by the 3D detailing system. Maybe going back to organized a group of members defined as the proven product module is a solution.

The mapping method of the 2D drawing output makes the desired out look of erection and shop drawing very (very!!!) difficult to be setting at the user interface, some fundamental coding to each type of the defined members (if a OEM or customized edition of 3D detailing system for the MBS industry is targeted ) is needed.

A Sample from Finland :

Vertex

Pride of Finland

Hardware enhanced (Workstation and PC cluster)

Many tools commercially available:

3D ACIS Modeler

True DWG licenses

VB, VC++ enhanced

True C++ FEA LIBs available

Other tools and developing platform

New collaboration platform (e.g. world wide distributed database..)

…

Tools Ready: Contemporary technologies will enhance the industry The in-house developers seduced by the advance of commercial software each and every day!!!

Look ahead: Something may be really soon

3D solid Model

3D is a better platform for knowledge based system

Structural Engineering

Detail and Production Engineering

Complex Load Definition

For complex geometry model, the unusual wind load coefficients can be digital modeled in current workstation or PC cluster, the current system typically defaulted at the MBMA standard coefficients

…

Complex Structural Analysis

Flexibility of the structural design module: advanced interface, the more conventional structures can be merged to MBS

…

Complex Detailing

Flexibility of the products line and engineering practice: the more conventional structures can be merged to MBS

…

More and more complex application can be assembled with the sophistic and proven standardized products module

…

Ultimate Target for the Development

Company knowledge based automated design

Low cost development, easy to maintenance

More and more applications after proven manually design

Maximum one year schedule of prototype development

The ability to collaborate with other contemporary platform

As there’s no limit of the sky, there’s no ultimate target system for the MBS

Considerations for discuss American, China and the business

A Transportable Commodity? These kinds of integrated technologies demanded outside American or not?

The situation

Programs Localization

Unity check

User Interface

Documentations

Others

The cost

Risk

Run software development as a business

In-house developed system

How big the team shall be?

Imagination

China! Can be an opportunity?

Market size

Team work to enhance the local industrial codes and standards

Software localization

For business, service concentrated

Price policy

Some considerations:

1985-1995, a romance era

Despite the different developing and running platform, the kernel is always the company knowledge accumulated from the manually design ahead

The in-house developed system advanced a little slower recently for the notable software crisis and the market situation in American

Contemporary structural design and detailing software educated the next generation integrative software system for MBS

MBS is also an opportunity for the current 3D steel detailing software vendors to enter, a new and stable market. But some re-architecture development needed.