System architecture modeling in a software tool based on the contact and channel approach (CC-A)

Albert Albers; Andreas Braun; Eike Sadowski; David C. Wynn; David F. Wyatt; P. John Clarkson

doi:10.1115/1.4004971

System architecture modeling in a software tool based on the contact and channel approach (CC-A)

Albert Albers, Andreas Braun, Eike Sadowski^*, David C. Wynn, David F. Wyatt, P. John Clarkson

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

28 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The Contact and Channel Approach (CC-A) has been developed to support the decomposition and design of technical systems. It is based on the principle that function and form emerge together during design, and therefore should be considered together in a design representation. This paper discusses the theory underlying the CC-A, and describes its formalization and implementation in a software tool. The approach is applied to model the system architecture of a humanoid robot arm considering the impact of a proposed design change. This illustrates some of the main benefits of the Contact and Channel Approach: helping designers visualize, understand and communicate the complex dependencies between function and form in a system architecture.

Original language	English
Article number	101006
Journal	Journal of Mechanical Design, Transactions of the ASME
Volume	133
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4004971
Publication status	Published - 2011
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Cambridge Advanced Modeller (CAM)
contact and channel Approach (CC-A)
design process
design representation
system architecture

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10.1115/1.4004971

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AU - Wyatt, David F.

AU - John Clarkson, P.

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AB - The Contact and Channel Approach (CC-A) has been developed to support the decomposition and design of technical systems. It is based on the principle that function and form emerge together during design, and therefore should be considered together in a design representation. This paper discusses the theory underlying the CC-A, and describes its formalization and implementation in a software tool. The approach is applied to model the system architecture of a humanoid robot arm considering the impact of a proposed design change. This illustrates some of the main benefits of the Contact and Channel Approach: helping designers visualize, understand and communicate the complex dependencies between function and form in a system architecture.

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System architecture modeling in a software tool based on the contact and channel approach (CC-A)

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Keywords

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