Draft:Automation Technology Products

Automation Technology Products (ATP), later renamed Cimplex Corporation, was a Computer Integrated Manufacturing software company founded in 1983 in Campbell, CA, USA.

Background

Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) software applications were traditionally based on 3D modeling technology. Models were generally created by entering "wireframe" details by describing lines, curves, intersections, edges, vertices etc., or by defining a complex curve or surface with a mathematical formula. Solid modeling described objects in terms of their solid geometry and topology, combining basic objects such as cubes, spheres, cones and so on by adding two or more together or subtracting objects from another simple or constructed object. One of the first was the Romulus (modelling kernel) system released by a team in Cambridge, England in 1978. Automation Technology Products established a team, consisting of experienced mathematicians, engineers and programmers, to produce a system that could not only model mechanical objects but automatically generate and perform Finite Element Mesh calculations to verify the strength of the design and generate Numerical Control (NC) programs to machine finished objects to very high tolerances. They achieved their goal and released a product named CIMPLEX in 1985.

Challenges

The mathematics involved in solid modeling is extremely complex and there were many unsolved problems, such as computing intersections between objects to an accuracy of 1/10,000th. of an inch for aerospace part manufacturing. The descriptions of even solid simple models involved a lot of data objects and connections between them. There had been attempts to use CODASYL Database technology in commercial products, but none had been able to attain the performance required to perform calculations on the model in acceptable time. A simple cube, for instance, can be represented by 65 interconnected objects, such as vertices, lines, edges, co-edges, loops and so on. An automative engine design required tens of thousands of data objects and connections and the resulting finite element meshes had tens of millions. Only mainframe computers and supercomputers of the time could perform the calculations quickly enough and handle the massive throughput of randomly accessed data involved. Although there were standalone workstations with color graphics displays, they were inadequate for handling all of the tasks involved.

Solutions

• The team came up with many novel and innovative solutions to the mathematical problems and CIMPLEX was used for modeling automative, nautical and aerospace parts, including aircraft doors, composite wings, engine blocks, submarine nacelles and helicopter gearbox parts.
• The software team decided to use IBM 370 mainframes for the computations and database handling and Silicon Graphics (SGI) displays and workstations for visualization. They also developed advanced database software, called ATPID (ATP Interactive Database) and a modeling and control language, ATPL, for handling interactions and repetitive tasks. ATPID had many interesting features, including the ability to construct and manipulate compound data structures, such as lists, many to many relationships between objects and versioning of objects and structures.
• Interaction between the computing and database elements on the mainframe and the graphics appearing on the workstations was handled by a database to graphics engine protocol and a proprietary IBM mainframe to SGI workstation communications technology. Updates to the mainframe database or workstation display raised trigger events that caused updates to the display list or database.

Factory Automation Information Management (FAIM)

The first CIMPLEX product, Factory Automation Information Management (FAIM), was released in 1984. It was deployed by companies such as Sikorsky and Ingersoll Machine Tools for product configuration management. It allowed users to produce a schema of data definitions and to enter, update, delete and query complex structures of data objects and their relationships. A later version allowed them to provide their own graphical user interface panels for Personal Computer users.

Solid Modeller

The CIMPLEX Solid Modeler Subsystem used the SGI graphics terminal or workstation to manipulate, rotate, explore details and query designs. it used patented rendering technology and was capable of displaying shaded and reflective surfaces.

Analysis

The CIMPLEX Analysis Subsystem could automatically generate Finite Element Meshes to any level of detail, including alternative versions, then invoke the NASTRAN or stress analysis application to check the viability of a designed object being subjected to specified stresses and strains.

Manufacturing

The CIMPLEX Manufacturing Subsystem could be instructed to use specified materials (stock) and cutters to produce a Numerical Control program that could then be delivered to a milling machine for manufacturing the designed object from of metal, foam or composite material stock.

Numerical Control Verification (NCV)

As graphical workstations became more powerful and less expensive, NCV, a user-friendly application for verifying and adjusting numerical control programs, was created. It could take a file of numerical control instructions written in APT (programming language), whether or not it was generated by CIMPLEX, depict the initial material stock and a profile of the finished part, then show the cutter paths and the resulting partially formed and completed shapes. It could also flag potential problems, such as chafing or tool over-stressing.