APPLICATION OF CIRCULAR ARRAY AS A MEANS OF PARAMETERIZATION IN COMPUTER DESIGN

Abstract

Designing modern industrial and household products is becoming increasingly complex and diverse, requiring shorter execution times and optimization of the number of specialists involved. This can be achieved through process automation and the use of computer technologies. In this context, parametric geometric modeling acquires particular importance as an effective tool for engineers and designers.

A parametric three‑dimensional computer model makes it possible to promptly modify the geometry of a product within a wide range and quickly evaluate its structural, functional, technological, and aesthetic characteristics, which allows identifying the advantages and disadvantages of different design options and finding the optimal solution. In Autodesk Inventor and other modern CAD systems, this is usually implemented by users through parameterization of the relative positioning of work planes, the geometry of generatrices (closed profiles for solid models), and extrusion trajectories. However, there is a significant number of models whose geometry can change substantially or even fundamentally by modifying the parameters of a certain initial element replicated by a circular array, as well as by changing the number of elements in that array.

The study includes an analysis of existing approaches and proposes new form‑generation algorithms, in which the circular array serves as the basis of model parameterization and enables fundamental changes in its geometry by altering only one or several parameters. For validation, the author constructed in Autodesk Inventor examples of parametric series of models of engineering and household products, as well as elements of geometric ornaments created using the proposed algorithms. Examples are provided of applying the Inventor iLogic function, which allows specifying rules (instructions) at the stage of model creation that directly affect its geometry and can later be edited. Its use additionally increases the diversity of geometric forms that can be obtained on the basis of a single parametric model.

The results of the study can be applied in the work of design and engineering bureaus and in the educational process.

Keywords: geometric parameterization, circular array, form‑generation algorithms, computer modeling, Autodesk Inventor.