Engineering Design through Constraint-Based Reasoning

It deals with the practical application of constraint networks, using automated reasoning to overcome some of the blind spots in conventional iterative design. Parametric engineering design refers to routine-level design (Brown and Chandrasekaran 1985) in which the parameters and variables describing the design object are known, and the problem is one of finding a consistent set of parameter values that conform to specified requirements. It involves converting a well-established symbolic representation of an object, consisting of a set of parameters and variables, into a specific numeric representation. This conversion involves the attachment of numeric values to the parameters and the use of analysis programs to either verify the consistency of these values or eliminate inconsistent values. Conventional methods of parametric design rely on the iterative reuse of analysis programs to converge on a satisfactory solution.