HPRODIE: Using feature modelling and feature mapping to speed up progressive die design

For various reasons, the advances in progressive die design remain too slow compared with the increasing importance of progressive dies in modern industry. Aimed at speeding up the design process, HPRODIE, an integrated CAD/CAM system for progressive dies, was developed. In HPRODIE, three featuresthe product feature for the representation of sheet metal parts, the stamping process feature for the strip layout, and the die design feature for building the die assembly modelare introduced respectively to represent three life-cycle aspects of sheet metal parts. Feature mapping methods are employed to transfer the design information between different design stages at high-level semantics. With feature modelling and feature mapping, most of design processes can be carried out automatically. The testing results have shown that the design cycle has been cut down significantly by using this system.