Captures and re-uses repetitive engineering activities
Knowledge Bridge (kBridge) provides an environment for the capture and automates the use of engineering rules and repetitive activities. It is specifically designed to capture common types of engineering rules and knowledge.
Automates ETO
kBridge automates the engineer-to-order (ETO) process for technically complex and often custom configured products.
It is unique in its ability to (1) maintain relationships and dependencies between parts and subassemblies; and (2) provide immediate, visual feedback of engineering changes.
Beyond Spreadsheets
In many respects, kBridge operates like a spreadsheet designed specifically for engineers. However, unlike conventional spreadsheet-based engineering routines, there is no penalty for complexity - that is, things don"t get out of hand when needs get complicated and tough.
What can be automated
kBridge can automate:
oMathematical calculations
oCapture of engineering rules
oConfigurations ranging from simple to highly complex, including those based on engineering requirements or site-specific codes
oSelection and configuration of components and assemblies
oEnforcement of engineering and/or drawing standards
oDevelopment of models, drawings, documents, etc.
oRollups of costs for labor, components, and assemblies for any size configuration
Why automate these?
Why automate? A significant amount of engineering time is devoted to repetitive and well-established calculations and applications of engineering rules. Automatically applying these activities not only saves times, it frees engineers for more creative and/or productive use of their expertise.
When repetitive tasks are automated, there can be dramatic reductions in time. (Many examples of rules-based sales engineering cut the time for preliminary design of complex structures from days and weeks literally to minutes or hours.)
Benefits include
oDramatic reductions in engineering time, from days and weeks to literally minutes or hours
▪Frees engineers for more creative and/or productive use of their expertise
oEasy Web accessibility
oFast development via a friendly UI
oAbility to develop complex applications without high-end computing platforms
Sharing
A key element of kBridge is its ability to encapsulate engineering design rules for easy sharing and re-use. It features
•A powerful inheritance mechanism to ensure that rules never need to be duplicated
•A tree structure to ensure information can be shared across assemblies easily
•The ability to create kBridge ‘Apps’ (we call them Projects) and share them, which enables:
•Experts to provide applications that automate their expertise
•Application builders to take advantage of a large library of prebuilt applications to shorten development time and minimize maintenance
More about kBridge, its history, and its basic concepts.
