Extended Object Model for Product Configuration Design

This paper presents an extended object model for case-based reasoning (CBR) in product configuration design. In the extended object model, a few methods of knowledge expression are adopted, such as constraints, rules, objects, etc. On the basis of extended object model, case representation model for CBR is applied to product configuration design system. The product configuration knowledge can be represented by the extended object. The model can support all the processes of CBR in product configuration design, such as case representation, indexing, retrieving, and case revising. The presented model is an extension of the traditional object-oriented model by including the relationship class used to express the relation between the cases, constraints class used in the product configuration knowledge representation, index class used in case retrieving, and solution class used in case revising. Therefore, the product configuration knowledge used in the product configuration design can be represented by using this model. In the end, a metering pump product configuration design system is developed on the basis of the proposed product configuration model to support customized products.