INTERACTIVE GRAPHICS APPLICATIONS

for conveyor Aerospace General Dynamics helping new techniques in computer Aid design using interactive Graphics I am Ken Bonine the project leader of the implementation of interactive Graphics at conver by computerated Design we mean the situation where the user Converses directly with the computer and his problem solving process is continuous and uninterrupted the cathode rate tub such as we see here is the tool that provides the direct communication link between the user and the computer the cathod ray tube displays alpha numeric text and line drawings of the output of the user's program as it is being produced the user may view this output may stop the program May modify input and restart the program using uh the light pin we have here the light pin uh Mak is sensitive to the pcks on the face of the tube and these cause program branching in the main computer and affect the changes in the program the advantages of using this type of uh tool are that uh you can save time product development time the product cost can be reduced you can improve the quality of the end product it can stimulate creativity of the user by keeping his problem solving mode uninterrupted keeping him his mental momentum up and you can produce a Competitive Edge in being able to respond more quickly to to the marketplace and the user demands on on changes in the product the approach Conair has taken is to build a broad base of users utilizing different from different disciplines developing software that can be used in their ongoing work we are training about 140 people in this particular process 25 have been actively engaged in developing programs the president computer configuration at conver is that for scientific work we have a Control Data 6,400 computer with 65,000 words of central memory at Kerney Mesa facility we have this terminal at the Kerney Mesa facility and one more graphic terminal at Lindberg field which is 10 miles away the following examples are the are types of programs that we have developed and are using in our work today I am Don Peterson a senior design engineer at the conver division the program I have developed helps mechanical designers synthesize four bar linkages for several classes of problems a program saves design time primarily in the pre-design phase and allows the designer to develop Optimum Solutions this is a list of options which allows the designer a choice of the type of problem he wishes to solve each choice represents a different set of motion constraints to demonstrate the program I shall select the first constraint option for position coupler guidance after defining the constraining positions those side curves are calculated and displayed these curves Define the set of four bar linkages which will exhibit the desired motion linkages are selected from the curves by positioning the tracking cross somewhere along the fixed pivot curve and accepting its location with the light pin the construct option allows drafting to be done about the length center lines obtained from the curve points lines arcs and special figures can be drawn quickly and easily this construction represents a single slotted airplane flap configuration each item constructed is identified with one of the four lengths for animation purposes the Leading Edge is drawn using the special figure feature of the construct option the the components of the flap have been specified to move with a coupler length of the four bar linkage the line construct feature of the drafting option is demonstrated by constructing lines which illustrate the leading edges fixed relationship to the main portion of the flap lines are drawn by simply indicating the end point with the tracking cross points and arcs can be constructed with equal simplicity to rotate or animate the linkage the rotation option is used the increment of rotation in the direction clockwise or counterclockwise must be specified for the link of the four bar linkage previously designated as the input link intuitively it can be seen that the direction must be clockwise to obtain the desired flap motion the light pin switch can now be used to trigger the motion each time the switch is depressed the linkage and flap configuration move one increment in the specified Direction the items constructed are seen to maintain their original relative positions but together move after exhibiting Fowler motion the linkage gated is one of several which could have been chosen from the design curve all selections will exhibit the same motion with only slight variations it is therefore left to the designer to select reselect and test linkages until he finds the optimum linkage I am Sandra yoshihara a scientific programmer in the design analysis programming Department the program I'm going to demonstrate is used to monitor different curvefitting programs and process their data through this Graphics program we are able to visually evaluate each curve fit and apply different methods as many times as necessary to arrive at an acceptable fit data is read in through cards and displayed in a two-dimensional plot on the scope the data shown here is atmosphere data plotting velocity of sound versus altitude we are able to partition the data into segments and fit each segment individually a segment is defined by moving the tracking cross to indicate the left limit and then the right limit of the segment the second segment is defined as the first segment by moving the tracking cross to the left limit and then the right limit of the segment the values of the limits are displayed at the bottom of the scope for verification the data in the first segment will be displayed and fit with a six Dee polom using the least squared polinomial approximation method the resultant curve is displayed over the data set the second segment is to be displayed and I'm selecting the least squares method again to fit the data this time with 11th degree polom we currently have a Le squares polinomial curit method and an interpolation method in the program but other methods may be added when they are needed the curve for the second set of data will be displayed on top of the data set the original data set will now be displayed with both curves overlaid on top of the data we had the option to change the scaling of the display by blowing up a certain section to examine details or by reducing the display to get an overall view by indicating diagonal corners of an area I'm specifying a section to be blown up the data and curves will be redisplayed with the new scaling limit the original limits of the display are restored and the data set and both curves are displayed we are able to visually examine each curve and spot Trends or Brakes in the curve that are not visible through numerical results I'm selecting the original data set to be displayed and selecting the Le squares method again to to be used to fit the data this time with 11th degree polinomial now I'm redisplaying the original data set with the curve for each of the two segments and the curve for the entire data set we are able to compare the curves and decide on the best fit through interactive Graphics we are able to quickly and easily apply different curve fitting methods to fit the data set I am stano a research design engineer with the pona division my program is designed to assist in the packaging of printed circuit boards using interactive Graphics the input needed is a geometry of the board and encoded electronic schematic diagram this is a pilot model which was written to show the feasibility of Automated Packaging the program itself will not package a circuit board but instead is a tool to be used by a packaging engineer presently the program consists of two parts manipulation of components and to make the electrical path hookup the output options will include the automated whole layout patterns drill tapes and assembly drawings in the first section the operator is given the option to select node values or actual components by selecting pick a node the computer responds by displaying a numeric font through the use of this internal numeric generator the operator constructs node values the computer responds by displaying a list of the node names and their respective leades of the node value through the selection of node two we can see that the components R23 C2 and Z2 were pre-placed near pin 2 which in this case has a old value of two by picking the component name R23 the computer responds with a group of new options these options deal with the manipulation of the component selected printed circuit boards are generally constructed in some basic grid system the size of the Grid in this case 50,000 is input to the numeric generator the grid size is retained by the computer and is utilized in an algorithm which automatically shifts the components to the nearest grid the grid can be erased or redisplayed upon command by selecting the word display vectors the vectors displayed shows where the component picked is electrically common to all other components at this point the tracking cross is attached to the component and with the light pin the operator has complete control of the placement of the component the component can also be rotated in any one of the 90° orientations computer keeps track of the component's locations and its orientation for further processing here the operator Returns the component to its Zer degree orientation and then places a component in its original position when in the display Vector mode the operator may switch from from component to component to see the overall electrical picture of each component selected as a cross reference to decide if the component should be moved after displaying the vectors the program takes the average summation of the vector on each lead of the component these new vectors indicate the direction in which the component should be moved for Optimum placement through the use of these options the operator moves the components into position returning to the main program we are allowed to enter the electrical path hookup routine the operator again has various function options which allow him to make the desired electrical interconnection by selecting a component the computer displays the node values and the respective leads the operator can pick a node number which signifies that the operator is now working with that node all of the component leads with that node value have a blinking Circle the operator now constructs line segments from Circle to Circle making the desired interconnection the operator has the option of placing the lines on the top conductor pattern which is solid or on the botom bottom conductor pattern which would be shown as dash line the operator can also add feed through pads for transferring the signal from one side of the board to the other the lines and pads with the selected node value will continue to Blink until the operator has completed making his interconnection the operator can also delete lines or pads which may be in the way at later time by selecting the function number of connections the numeric generator allows the operator to ask for the nodes which have that number of common components the operator then selects a new node value to work with initial estimates indicated Savings of 60 to 75% in man hours required for packaging and docum ation of discret component printed circuit boards this program will form the baas of true automation of printed circuit boards from designer through manufacturing additional savings will be realized through the automatic output of NC drill tape NC component selection and insertion tape and NC art Master generation tape my name is U Kima I'm an aeronautical engineer and I'm going to demonstrate to you a data Graphics high lift system development program this program is currently being used to select design and develop the high lift system or flat system for the space shuttle booster this program of three major parts the high LIF system geometry is stored on punched cards or magnetic discs and can be displayed to the operator upon command we will see the space shuttle flap in partially deployed condition the flap stows in top of the wing as a protective measure against high temperatures during re-entry I can move the flat with my light pen let us move it back to simulate the track moded system or a system attached to a four bar linkage I can also rotate the flat but first one must designate with a tracking cross how much rotation is desired should we decide to examine some section more closely we simply blow it up or enlarge it how about changing flap or Wing Contours first we move the tracking cross to the area where change is required then we pick the Contour point to be changed you might notice a blinking point and command the change to take place let us do it again we move the track and cross to the point where Contour change is desired designate the Contour point to be moved and command the move well let us do it on a larger scale so we can really see what is going on notice that the Contour point that is to be moved is blinking I have just been accomplishing the operations normally performed by wind tunnel model designers and Builders once we're happy with the model we will ask the computer to calculate the aerodynamic forces for us in this case we're interested in transient aerodynamic loads during flap deployment that is when the flap is mounted on a bar linkage when the calculations are completed the aerodynamic lift drag and M data is plotted on the lower right hand corner of the scope let us examine the pressure distributions for an angle of attack now let us take a closer look at the pressure distributions on the wing surface now we can formulate the next geometric change to the high lift system we can display translate rotate or change Contours and obtain a new set of aerodynamic data we repeat the process until we obtain the required data or the desired level of Li using data Graphics we have been able to accomplish tasks in 20 minutes that under normal circumstance aners would take four to 5 months and involve expensive wind tunnels models and tests I am Gary owing a scientific programmer in the design analysis programming department at conver and the program which I have written contains the two basic graphical methods needed in designing and testing a control system both methods not only predict the performance of the system but also give insight into how to adjust that system to meet the desired characteristics the first technique frequency response produces two graphs which give the magnitude and phase angle of the response at specific values of frequency after reading the data the program computes the points on these curves and displays them you will notice that the independent variable frequency is plotted logarithmically while the phase angle and Gain are linear by moving the tracking cross to the position we desire we can determine the exact values of gain and phase at that frequency these values are displayed near the bottom of the screen this program also lets me see the effect of a change in the input data here I am adding two more poles to the transfer function by entering a new quadratic polinomial in the denominator the program then recomputes the points on the curves using this new transfer function and displays the plots to get a clearer picture of the perturbation caused by these new poles the program displays both sets of Curves this option lets me investigate many similar types of systems and gives me much information on the behavior and volatility of this system as you can imagine seeing immediately the results of a newly designed system greatly expedites the search for the best system I have now decided to utilize the other graphical method root Locus in order to completely understand the response of this system this method uses the same transfer function but produces the plot of the roots of the characteristic equation of the closed loop system as a function of the game after entering values which will Define the boundaries of my root Locus plot I direct the program to compute the logus and display the plot with this plot we get a clear indication of the effect of gain adjustment on the stability of the system to get quantitative information from this Locus I choose any point on the plot and the program returns to me the exact position of that point and the gain and damping ratio there with this Locus before me I am interested in what would happen if I added a pair of complex poles to the transfer function using the tracking cross I lo locate the PO at the desired places and direct the program to compute the new Locus note that the new system is no longer completely stable since the locus now crosses the imaginary axis the vertical dotted line by using the comparison option I can get a more dramatic representation of the effect that these two new poles have had on the original system if this new system is not satisfactory I merely have to repeat the the above steps using the knowledge I have just gained to design a better system to summarize these two graphical methods frequency response and root Locus provide the tools necessary to completely study the response and stability of any control system more importantly this program and its use of interactive computer Graphics has provided the medium through which the engineer can use his understanding of the problem to efficiently direct the processes needed to design and test a control system I am Michael Croc a structural engineer at conver and I have written a graphics program to develop three-dimensional structural analysis mathematical models the first part of the program is used to visually check out the structural model and to make changes some corrections to the model before it is analyzed in the first part of the program we develop an overall view of the model by selecting bars to be displayed we then select a general transformation to define the orientation of the view the three angles are projections of the model axes onto the tube face exploded view factors are set to one picking plot produces the view of the wing from the overall view of the wing we can locate airs in geometry and omitted members and decide which areas of the model we wish to study in detail we now go to a display of a rib of the wing for detailed viewing and modif as the first check we display the shear webs of the rib after checking the webs they can be erased the rib will now be shown with a diagonal member that has been added from the tube as an illustration of changing the geometry we interrogate a node to determine its coordinates new coordinates can then be entered from the tube in this case the Z coordinate is changed from 13.4 to 15.0 in picking redisplay gives the rib drawn to the new geometry after the model is analyzed an overall view of the model in the deflected shape can be constructed picking bars in the coordinate transformation followed by plot produces the deflected view in dashed lines the deflections of the wing are shown to scale a comparison of the deflected and undeflected shape of the model can be shown by redisplaying the static View overlays of several loading conditions can be produced in this manner returning to a display of the rib we can look at the bar results to view a plot of the bar loads in the rib we can also display the loads in an individual bar for up to eight bars this yields exact load information for the bars now we see a view of the rib with the panels and the average Shear flows picking the panel gives a view of the individual panel with the shear flows acting along each side in this fashion the structural engineer is able to rapidly view the results of the analysis this program was used to help develop three math models during a recent proposal the estimated savings compared to three similar models for a previous proposal without Graphics are 20 to1 in computer costs and 3 months to 3 weeks in calendar time Graphics allowed us to meet a tight schedule with a high degree of confidence in the validity of the mathematical analysis of these models for