An intelligent interface between symbolic and numeric analysis tools required for the development of an integrated CAD system

Integrating existing engineering numerical analysis tools with AI techniques is one of the important issues for design automation. This paper deals with the issues and strategies of integrating the expertise of finite element modeling in an integrated CAD environment. It describes the need and method for combining a variety of sophisticated capabilities including product modeling, intelligent pre- and post-processing possibilities for finite element analysis, interfacing with finite element analysis (FEA) package, FEA data interpretation and guided redesign facilities in the intelligent CAD system environment. The paper describes a prototype system for automated fixture design which implements an intelligent interfacing mechanism for the use of its symbolic and numeric analysis tools.