Variation Analysis Method Based on Product Feature Information Network

Dimensional and geometric variations are significant factors of products at the manufacturing stage. Because of these variations, the physical appearance or functionality of the final product may deviate from expectations. As of the present, research on variation analysis has been conducted at the feature level. To model the information and analyze the variation transfers of products, a graphical model is constructed by using the product feature and information. Through analysis of the relationship between the product and network model, a modeling process for the feature information network is proposed. Nodes, lines, and constraints in the network are defined in detail, and the dimension unit is defined to represent the dimension information within a part. Variations caused by connections between parts are divided into two categories of influence. Combining the dimension unit and the influence between parts, a variation analysis process is devised based on the proposed network model. To verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method, a case study is performed based on the grand assembly of a hull block. The result shows that the product can be modelled and the variation can be analyzed by the proposed network model.