JP2001273342A - Product manufacturing method and product manufacturing support method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a product that realizes a parallel work of a design work and a mass production preparation work by enabling the evaluation of the manufacturing quality of a product to be designed without depending on a prototype. The purpose is to provide a manufacturing support method. SOLUTION: List information which describes component information of a product and process information in a tree structure, and describes information of an image to be attached to the component and information of an image to be attached to the process. By creating work procedure information including images allocated to the processes described in the list information, thereby creating a work procedure manual for the product, and the process steps described in the list information. And a processing step of creating a visual kitting list of products by creating a kitting list composed of a list of images of components.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention realizes a parallel operation of a design work and a mass production preparation work by making it possible to evaluate the production quality of a product to be designed without depending on a prototype. The present invention relates to a product manufacturing support method capable of realizing a shortened product development period and efficient mass production preparation work, and a product manufacturing method constructed by the product manufacturing support method.

When a product is designed, a production engineer prepares for mass production of the product by understanding the assembly procedure based on the design information, and then starts mass production of the product. become.

[0003] In order to shorten the product development period, it is necessary to build a technology for realizing a design work and a mass production preparation work in parallel.

[0004]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 46 illustrates a process of development and production of a product according to the prior art.

[0005] As shown in the figure, conventionally, when a product design is completed, first, a prototype is produced based on the design, and the production quality such as an assembly procedure is evaluated based on the prototype. By doing so, the prototype is evaluated.

Subsequently, the evaluation of the prototype is fed back to the design, thereby completing the design and, at the same time, preparing for mass production.

Subsequently, when the design is completed by the feedback, mass production is started, and a product is developed and produced by coping with design changes that occur thereafter.

As described above, in the prior art, when a product is developed and manufactured, a prototype is produced when the design of the product is completed by the design department, and the production engineering department evaluates the manufacturing quality such as an assembly procedure based on the prototype. In this way, they use the method of preparing for mass production.

[0009]

However, according to such a conventional technique, since a method of evaluating the production quality of a product by producing a prototype is used, a product development period becomes longer. However, there is a problem that the efficiency of mass production preparation work cannot be improved.

That is, according to the prior art, the design work and the mass production preparation work cannot be performed in parallel, so that there is a problem that the product development period is lengthened and the efficiency of the mass production preparation work cannot be improved.

[0011] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is capable of evaluating the manufacturing quality of a product to be designed without depending on a prototype, so that the design work and the mass production preparation work can be performed in parallel. Providing a new product manufacturing support method that realizes the work, thereby shortening the product development period and increasing the efficiency of mass production preparation work, and a new product manufacturing method built by the product manufacturing support method The purpose is to provide.

[0012]

In order to achieve this object, a product manufacturing support method according to the present invention describes component information and process information of a product in a tree structure and affixes the information to the components. Processing for creating list information describing image information and image information to be pasted in those processes, and assigning the processes to the processes described in the list information created in the first processing. By creating work procedure information including an image to be processed, a second processing step of creating a work procedure manual and a list of images of components described in the list information created in the first processing step A third processing step of creating a visual kitting list to be displayed, and a fourth processing step of inputting advance preparation progress information of a product and converting the information into a table format to create a advance preparation progress confirmation table of the product When A configuration with.

In the product manufacturing support method of the present invention configured as described above, in the first processing step, the component information of the product and the process information are described in a tree structure and are attached to those components. List information is created that describes information on images and information on images to be pasted in those steps.

For example, a component list of a product created at an early stage of product design is obtained, the components are displayed in a tree structure, and components are added and deleted as necessary according to the interactive processing. The tree structure is edited, process information required for manufacturing the product is added, and further, attribute information is attached to the component, and an image is attached to the component and the process to create list information.

Further, for example, the design information of a product created by a CAD system is obtained, the product is visually displayed, the components of the product are displayed in a tree structure, and the configuration is made as necessary according to the interactive processing. By editing the tree structure while adding and deleting products, adding process information required for product manufacturing, and attaching attribute information to components, and attaching images to components and processes Create list information.

In response to the created list information, a second
In the process of, for example, a tree structure describing the list information is displayed, and when the process information having the tree structure is selected, an input screen is displayed in association with the selected process information, and In addition to displaying the image pasted on the selected process information and the input area for work procedure information on the input screen, receiving the editing operation on the input screen, creating the work procedure information, and listing them in the list information The work procedure information is created by arranging in the order of the steps described in.

On the other hand, in response to the created list information, in a third processing step, for example, a method of classifying components and a method of handling unit parts are selected and described in the list information according to the classification method. Create a visual kitting list by classifying the components to be output, extracting the components to be output according to the handling method, and classifying according to the classification result, and creating an image list of those components to be output. I do.

On the other hand, in a fourth processing step, advance preparation progress information of the product is input, and the information is converted into a table format to create a advance preparation progress confirmation table of the product.

As described above, according to the present invention, the component information of the product and the process information are described in a tree structure, and the information of the image to be attached to the component and the information of the image to be attached to the process are described. Is adopted to create list information that describes

The tree structure described by the list information created in this way describes what parts need to be prepared in order to manufacture a product. What kind of procedure should be used to assemble these parts, such as assembling the B part to the part, then assembling it with the C part, then assembling it with the D part and the E part, etc. It describes whether it is good.

Further, in the tree structure, attribute information and process information of parts required for manufacturing a product to be processed are described in association with each other, and images related to those parts and processes are associated with each other. It is registered. Therefore, it can be said that this tree structure (list information) describes all manufacturing information necessary for manufacturing a product.

Thus, the production engineer can evaluate the production quality of a product on a desk using the tree structure described in the list information without producing a prototype.

That is, according to the present invention, a production engineer can evaluate the production quality of a designed product without depending on a prototype, and as shown in FIG. Work can be done in parallel with the work,
This makes it possible to shorten the product development period and increase the efficiency of mass production preparation work.

In adopting this configuration, according to the present invention, a tree structure describing list information is displayed, and when a process such as a tree is selected by a user such as a production engineer, the tree process is selected. Display the input screen in association with the input screen, display the image attached to the selected process information and the input area for the work procedure information, and receive the editing operation on the input screen to perform the work. The procedure information is created and the work procedure manual is created by arranging them in the order of the steps described in the list information.

The work procedure manual created in this way is:
It is prepared for workers at the site, and in manufacturing the product, what kind of procedure is performed, what is the key point of the work, and the reason is that According to the present invention, this work procedure manual can also be created at the stage of mass production preparation as one work of manufacturing quality evaluation.

At the time of adopting this configuration, according to the present invention, components described in the list information are classified according to a classification method designated by a user such as a production engineer, and at the same time, a user such as a production engineer is classified. A configuration is adopted in which components to be output are extracted according to a designated handling method, and a visual kitting list is created by creating an image list of the components to be output while classifying the components according to the classification result.

The kitting list created in this way is prepared for workers at the site.
Although it is a visual description of which components must be prepared for manufacturing a product, according to the present invention, this kitting list is also used as one operation of manufacturing quality evaluation to prepare for mass production. Can be created in stages.

At the time of adopting this configuration, the present invention employs a configuration in which advance preparation progress information of a product is input and converted into a table format to create a advance preparation progress confirmation table for the product. .

The advance preparation progress confirmation table created in this way is prepared for the workers at the site.
It describes what kind of preparations must be made before manufacturing a product. According to the present invention, however, this preliminary preparation progress check table is also used as one of the operations for manufacturing quality evaluation. It can be created at the stage of mass production preparation.

As described above, according to the product manufacturing support method of the present invention, it is possible to evaluate the manufacturing quality of a product to be designed without depending on the prototype, thereby enabling the design work and the mass production preparation work to be performed. Parallel work is realized, thereby shortening the product development period and increasing the efficiency of mass production preparation work.

From now on, a process for obtaining a product specification from a customer via a network, a process for starting a product design based on the product specification, and a process for designing the product before the product design is completed. Based on the obtained product design information, a virtual product prototype is produced on a computer to evaluate the manufacturing quality, and the result is fed back to the product design. A process for starting mass production, a process for shipping produced products to a customer based on a delivery instruction from a customer notified via a network, and a delivery for a shipment notified via a network. And a process of receiving the notification.

It should be noted that the customer who sends the product specifications does not necessarily have to be the same customer as the shipping source. That is, a customer who sends product specifications also sends information on the number of units and delivery date according to an order from the end user, and may directly ship the product to the end user based on the information.

[0033]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail according to embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in this figure, the present invention provides an apparatus PP
With the device PPL information database 1 for storing L information and the component table stored in the component table database 11 as inputs, the production and product management database 12 and the image file system 13 are accessed while the A device PPL information generator 10 that generates device PPL information by interacting with a user such as a technician, and a user such as a production technician via a terminal 22 using design information of a product created by a CAD system 21 as input. The basic information of the device PPL information is generated by the
Manufacturing simulator 2 outputting to L information generator 10
0 and the device PPL information stored in the device PPL information database 1 as input, while accessing the work procedure information database 31 as necessary, and interacting with a user such as a production engineer via the terminal 32, Generate work procedure manuals, kitting lists and advance preparation progress confirmation tables,
A production support device 30 that outputs the data by printing it with a printer 33 or the like.

FIG. 3 shows the apparatus PPL information generator 10.
FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the manufacturing support apparatus 30.

The device PPL information generator 10 converts the device PPL from the component table stored in the component table database 11.
When generating the PL information, the component list database 1
1 as input, information such as attribute information of parts stored in the production / product management database 12 and images of parts stored in the image file system 13 (photographed by a digital camera). Things)
By interacting with the user via the terminal 14 while referring to the above, generating product manufacturing information (hereinafter, referred to as device PPL information) necessary for manufacturing the product and storing it in the device PPL information database 1 In order to realize this processing, the pre-processing program 100 and the device P
A program called a PL information generation program 101 is provided.

Here, the pre-processing program 100 and the apparatus PPL information generation program 101 can be stored in an appropriate recording medium such as a computer-readable semiconductor memory.

On the other hand, the manufacturing support apparatus 30 uses the apparatus PPL information stored in the apparatus PPL information database 1 as an input, uses the operation procedure information stored in the operation procedure information database 31, and interacts with the user via the terminal 32. To create a work procedure manual and print it out with the printer 33, or input device PPL information stored in the device PPL information database 1 and interact with the user via the terminal 32 to perform visual kitting. Create a list, print it out with the printer 33, or interact with the user via the terminal 32 to create advance preparation progress information, create a advance preparation progress check table based on it, and send it to the printer. In order to realize this processing, a work procedure manual creation program 3 is used.
00, a kitting list creation program 301,
The program includes a preparation progress data creation program 302 and a manufacturing support processing selection program 303.

Here, the work procedure manual creation program 300
The kitting list creation program 301, the advance preparation progress material creation program 302, and the manufacturing support process selection program 303 can be stored in an appropriate recording medium such as a computer-readable semiconductor memory.

First, the device PPL information generator 10
Will be described in detail.

The device PPL information generator 10 converts the device PPL from the component table stored in the component table database 11.
There is a case where the PL information is generated, and a case where the device PPL information is generated from a process product tree (details will be described later) input from the manufacturing simulator 20.

The manufacturing simulator 20 receives the design information of the product created by the CAD system 21, takes a configuration for displaying a visual product, and interacts with the user via the product display to obtain the device PPL information. Generate a process product tree that is the basic information of

The device PPL information generator 10 generates the device PPL information from the process product tree generated by the manufacturing simulator 20.
The device PPL information is generated by allocating images and attribute information to the parts and processes of the process / product tree by interacting with the user via.

Here, the image assigned at this time is:
The image data is stored in the image file system 13, is generated from three-dimensional model data designed by the CAD system 21, and is registered in the image file system 13, or is captured by a digital camera and registered in the image file system 13.

Using this manufacturing simulator 20, the device P
When the PL information is generated, the apparatus PPL information is generated using the three-dimensional model data designed by the CAD system 21, so that the apparatus PPL information cannot be generated at an early stage of product design. There is a point.

Therefore, the apparatus PPL information generator 10
Can generate device PPL information at an early stage of product design by generating device PPL information using a component table stored in the component table database 11 created at an early stage of product design. I have to.

The component table stored in the component table database 11 is created by a designer at an early stage of product design, and as shown in FIG. And describes the product name / part number / quantity of those parts.

The arrangement of the parts described in the component list is as follows.
The designer decides in consideration of the product assembly order.
However, this is due to the designer's self-determination, and usually differs greatly from what is determined by a production engineer familiar with manufacturing.

On the other hand, the components described in the component list can be roughly divided into a single component composed of a single component, and a unit component composed of a single component and other unit components assembled. There is. By searching the production / product management database 12 using the part number of the part as a search key, it can be determined whether the part is a single part or a unit part. Further, if the part is a unit part,
The individual parts and unit parts that compose it can be understood.

As can be seen from this, the component list is
In addition to indirectly describing the component type of each component that composes the product, the hierarchy level of each component that composes the product (the hierarchy level of a single component decreases by one each time it is assembled into a unit component) It is described indirectly.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of a processing flow executed by the pre-processing program 100, and FIGS.
2 shows an embodiment of a processing flow executed by a PL information generation program 101.

Next, when the apparatus PPL information is generated from the component list according to these processing flows, the apparatus PPL
The processing executed by the information generator 10 will be described in detail.

When the pre-processing program 100 is started, as shown in the processing flow of FIG. 6, first, in step 1, a component table of a product to be processed is input from the component table database 11 in step 1. I do.

Then, in step 2, the production / production is performed using the part number of each part described in the input component table as a search key.
By searching the product management database 12, attribute information of each part is acquired and associated with the part in the component list.

For example, the method of procurement of the part, the work place of the part, the version number of the part, information on whether the part is an auxiliary part (such as a screw), and information on whether the part is a simple Information such as whether or not it is a so-called seal is acquired and associated with the component in the component list.

Here, the information as to whether or not it is an auxiliary part or the information as to whether or not it is a simple Mevan has an important meaning since those parts must be procured by the manufacturing site. Try to get that information.

Subsequently, in step 3, the production / production is performed using the part number of each part described in the input component table as a search key.
By searching the product management database 12, the unit parts described in the component list are extracted, and further, by referring to the production / product management database 12, the unit parts are disassembled into individual parts. At this time, if the unit component further has a unit component, the disassembling of the unit component into a single component component is repeated.

In accordance with the disassembly process, the hierarchical level of the single component and the unit component described in the input component list is specified, and the single component (there is a case where there is a unit component) constituting the unit component. Specifies the hierarchy level.

That is, the hierarchical level of the first component to be assembled described in the component list is “1”, the hierarchical level of the finished product described in the component list is “1”, and the component is directly assembled to the completed product. The hierarchical level of the component described in the component table to be used is defined as “2”, and when the unit component is disassembled into a single component component (including the unit component, if any), the disassembled component is used. Is determined by lowering the hierarchy level of the unit component by one level (increasing the hierarchy level value by 1) from the hierarchy level of the unit component to be decomposed. The hierarchy level of the obtained single component parts and unit parts is specified.

Further, in step 3, by referring to the production / product management database 12, a process of acquiring attribute information of single parts and unit parts obtained by the disassembly processing is also performed.

Subsequently, in step 4, the component parts table to which the attribute information, the information as to whether or not the part is a unit part, and the hierarchy level are added is passed to the apparatus PPL information generation program 101, and the processing is terminated.

Thus, the pre-processing program 100
Is to input a component table of a product to be processed from the component table database 11 and to add attribute information, information as to whether or not it is a unit part, and a hierarchical level to the component table.

If the component table has a hierarchical structure such that a component table describing the configuration of the unit components described in the component table is prepared separately, the preprocessing program 100 It is possible to specify the hierarchical level of the component by referring to the component table having this hierarchical structure without searching the production / product management database 12.

The device PPL information generation program 101
In response to the processing of the preprocessing program 100, as shown in the processing flow of FIGS. 7 to 10, first, in step 1, the preprocessed component list is received.

Subsequently, in step 2, while allocating an empty process (eg, an empty assembly process) to each component position, the list position / hierarchy level / component type of the component described in the preprocessed component table Creates a process product tree and displays it on the display screen. That is, for example, a system screen having a screen structure as shown in FIG. 11 is displayed, and the created process product tree is displayed on the left side thereof.

Here, in this process product tree, “▽” is a single part, “▼” is a unit part,
“O” indicates an assembly process, and “1 to 6” indicate a hierarchy level. Here, for convenience of explanation, the lower the hierarchical level,
It is assumed that the hierarchy level value will increase.

Subsequently, in step 3, the part name and part number described in the preprocessed component list and the attribute information of the part corresponding to the part name and part number are described in the process product tree. And display them on the display screen in correspondence with the parts. That is, as shown in FIG. 11, while taking correspondence with the process product tree,
On the system screen, the component name / part number / attribute information of the component described in the component list is displayed.

Subsequently, in step 4, a user operation on the system screen is awaited. That is, the user edits the process product tree by inputting a value in an input entry (an area other than the process product tree becomes an input entry) of the system screen or operating a button of the system screen. It asks for requests and waits for those inputs.

When a user operation is detected in step 4, the process proceeds to step 5, where it is determined whether the user has operated the "store button" shown in FIG. 11 and the user has operated the "store button". When the determination is made, the process proceeds to step 6, where the apparatus PPL information created according to the processing to be described below is stored in the apparatus PPL information database 1.
And the process ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 5 that the user has not operated the "store button", the flow advances to step 7 to determine whether or not the user has issued an input request to the input entry. Then, when it is determined that the user has issued the input request, the process proceeds to step 8 to execute a process of inputting a specified value to the specified input entry, and then to process the next user operation. Return to step 4.

That is, the production / product management database 1
2 to change the attribute information read from the storage unit 2, input a value for an attribute item that is not registered in the attribute information read from the production / product management database 12, or change a component added by a process described later. For example, a part name or a part number is input, or a process name of an initially set assembly process is changed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 7 that the user has not issued an input request to the input entry, the process proceeds to step 9 (the processing flow in FIG. 8).
When it is determined whether the user has operated the “delete button” or “unit only delete button” shown in FIG. 11 and it is determined that the user has operated the “delete button” or “unit only delete button” , Proceed to step 10,
After the process / product tree is edited by deleting the specified parts and processes, the process returns to step 4 to process the next user operation.

That is, when a single part of the process product tree is selected and the “delete button” is subsequently operated, the selected single part is deleted and the unit part of the process product tree is deleted. Is selected and the "Delete button" is subsequently operated, the entire selected unit part is deleted, the unit parts of the process product tree are selected, and the "Unit only delete button" is subsequently Is operated, the selected unit part is deleted while the parts constituting the selected unit part are left (the hierarchy level is increased by one), and the process in the process product tree is selected. When the “Delete” button is subsequently operated, the selected process is deleted. Than it is.

Note that the selection of a part or a process can be made not by selecting a display mark on the process product tree but by selecting a row corresponding to the display mark.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 9 that the user has not operated the "delete button" or "unit only delete button", the process proceeds to step 11, where the user instructs the addition of a part ( It is determined whether or not the user has operated the “追加”, “▼”, “∨”, or “∀”) shown in FIG. Go ahead and edit the process product tree by adding the specified part (one level below the hierarchy) to the specified additional position (position on the ruled line or unit part), and then perform the next user operation Return to step 4 to process.

At this time, the “part name column” of the input entry
, A general name such as “single part” or “unit part” is automatically input according to the part type of the additional part.

Here, “▽” is a button for instructing the addition of a single part, “▼” is a button for instructing the addition of a unit part, and “追加” is an addition of a self-procured part not described in the component list. Is a button for instructing addition of a unit component to be warehoused.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 11 that the user has not operated the part addition button,
Proceeding to step 13, it is determined whether or not the user has operated a button (“○”, “●”, “◇”, or “◎” shown in FIG. 11) for instructing addition of a process. When it is determined that this process addition button has been operated, the process proceeds to step 14, where the process product tree is edited by adding the specified process to the specified addition position (position on the ruled line). Then, the process returns to step 4 to process the next user operation.

At this time, the "process name column" of the input entry
Depending on the process type of the additional process,
General names such as "setup", "test / inspection", and "other" are automatically input.

Here, “○” is a button for instructing addition of an assembling process, “●” is a button for instructing addition of a setup process, “◇” is a button for instructing addition of a test / inspection process,
“◎” is a button for instructing addition of other steps.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 13 that the user has not operated the process addition button,
Proceeding to step 15, it is determined whether or not the user has operated the "move button" shown in FIG. 11, and if it is determined that the user has operated the "move button", the process proceeds to step 16, where the designated Edit the process product tree by moving the specified part or process to the destination position (the destination of the component is the position on the ruled line and the unit part, and the destination of the process is the position on the ruled line). The process returns to step 4 to process the next user operation.

That is, when a single component of the process product tree is selected, and then a destination is specified and the “destination button” is operated, the selected single component is moved to the destination. Process
When a unit part in the product tree is selected, and then a destination is specified and the "destination button" is operated, the selected unit part and the part held by the unit part are moved to the destination. Then, when a process in the process product tree is selected, and a destination is subsequently specified and the "destination button" is operated, the selected process is moved to the destination.

In this movement, the name / number / attribute information of the part or process to be moved is automatically moved in accordance with the information.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 15 that the user has not operated the “move button”,
Proceeding to step 17, a button for instructing the user to change the expression format of the part (the "set expression button" shown in FIG. 11)
Or “individual expression button” or “unit switching button”), and if it is determined that the user has operated this expression format change button, step 1
Proceeding to step 8 (processing flow in FIG. 9), the process product tree is edited by executing the process of changing the specified expression format for the specified component, and then the next user operation is processed. Return to step 4 for this purpose.

That is, when a part of the process product tree is selected and the "set representation button" is subsequently operated, the upper and lower rows having the same data as the row associated with the selected part are displayed. Row 1
Change the expression format of the process product tree by grouping as one line and registering the number of lines that have been combined into one in the "number column" of the input entry (to combine the same parts that are continuously arranged into one) You do it.

Then, the parts of the process / product tree are selected, followed by the “individual expression button”
Is operated, the line associated with the selected part is decomposed into the number of lines registered in the “number column” of the input entry, and “1” is respectively set in the “number column” of the input entry. By registering, the expression form of the process product tree is changed (parts that are put together are disassembled individually).

When a unit part of the process product tree is selected and the "unit switching button" is subsequently operated, the part and the process included in the selected unit part are specified and displayed on the screen. Then, the display format of the process product tree is changed by changing the display color of the selected unit component to a specified one.

Then, the unit part whose display color has been changed is selected, followed by the "unit switching button".
Is operated, the parts and processes included in the selected unit parts are specified and redisplayed on the screen, and the display color of the selected unit parts is changed to the original color, so that the process can be performed.・ Change the expression format of the product tree.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 17 that the user has not operated the expression format change button, the process proceeds to step 19 (the processing flow in FIG. 9), in which the user selects the "image pasting" shown in FIG. When it is determined whether the user has operated the "image pasting button" or the "automatic pasting button", it is determined whether the user has operated the "image pasting button" or the "automatic pasting button". After attaching the image specified to the part or process, the process returns to step 4 to process the next user operation.

That is, when a part of the process product tree is selected and the “image pasting button” is subsequently operated, a list of images stored in the designated image file is displayed. By pasting an image selected from the selected image (for example, an image of the selected component) to the selected component and registering the number of images pasted in the “PIC field” of the input entry, the user can select the image. The image is attached to the component.

Then, the process of the process / product tree is selected, followed by the “image pasting button”.
Is operated, a list of images stored in a designated image file is displayed, and an image selected from the list (for example, an image showing a procedure for assembling parts in a selected process) is displayed. By pasting the selected process and registering the number of pasted images in the "PIC column" of the input entry, the image is pasted to the process selected by the user.

Then, the parts of the process / product tree are selected, followed by the “automatic paste button”
Is operated, the image stored in the specified image file is to be pasted, and the image indicated by the component number of the selected component is adopted, and the specified image is assigned to the selected component. In addition, by registering the number of images pasted in the "PIC column" of the input entry, the image is automatically pasted on the part selected by the user.

Then, the process of the process / product tree is selected, followed by the “automatic paste button”.
Is operated, the image stored in the designated image file is to be pasted, and the process number of the selected process (the process number must be registered in advance when performing this process) By adopting a configuration for specifying an image, the specified image is pasted to the selected process, and the number of pasted images is registered in the “PIC column” of the input entry, so that the image can be stored in the process selected by the user. Is automatically affixed.

When the "automatic pasting button" is operated without selecting a part or a process, it is assumed that all parts and processes have been selected, and a process is performed to execute the automatic pasting process of this image. ing.

Here, when the “delete button” is operated while the pasted image is displayed on the display screen using the “image display button” described below, the registration is deleted. Is being treated as if it were.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 19 that the user has not operated the "image pasting button" or the "automatic pasting button", the process proceeds to step 21 and the user proceeds to the "image display button" shown in FIG. Button is operated or not, and when it is determined that the user has operated the "image display button", the process proceeds to step 22, where the image attached to the specified component or process is displayed on the system screen. And returns to step 4 to process the next user operation.

That is, when a part or process of the process product tree is selected and the “image display button” is subsequently operated, an image to be attached to the selected component or process is displayed, and When a plurality of images are to be pasted, the images to be pasted are displayed on the system screen in order from the image to be pasted in response to the operation of the “NEXT button”.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 21 that the user has not operated the "image display button", the flow advances to step 23 to determine whether the user has operated the "warehouse button" shown in FIG. When judging whether or not the user has operated the "Kurairi button",
Proceeding to step 24, the designated unit component is set as a storage component, and then the process returns to step 4 to process the next user operation.

That is, when a unit part possessed by the process product tree is selected, and subsequently the “Warehouse button” is operated, the part and the process included in the selected unit part are specified and displayed on the screen. Then, by changing the display mark of the selected unit component from “▼” to “∀”, the unit component selected by the user is changed to the storage component.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 23 that the user has not operated the “Kurairi button”,
Proceeding to step 25, the user selects "UN" shown in FIG.
If it is determined whether or not the user has operated the "DO button" and it is determined that the user has operated the "UNDO button", the process proceeds to step 26, where the state is returned to the state before one editing process, and then the next user operation is performed. Return to step 4 to process.

That is, if the part addition processing is being executed before the “UNDO button” is operated, the “U
When the "NDO button" is operated, the state returns to the state before one editing processing, such as returning to the state before performing the additional processing.

As described above, steps 4 and 2
By repeating the processing in step 6, the process product tree displayed on the system screen is edited by the production engineer, thereby completing the processing as shown in FIG.

Here, as can be seen from this figure, one row is allocated to each component or each process described in the process product tree, and this one row is used to execute each component or each process. Attribute information is displayed.

On the other hand, in step 25, the user
When it is determined that the "O button" has not been operated, the process proceeds to step 27 (the processing flow in FIG. 10), and it is determined whether the user has operated the "total button" shown in FIG. When it is determined that the user has operated the "aggregate button", the process proceeds to step 28, where the trial man-hours entered in the "trial man-hour field" of the input entry are aggregated, and the aggregated value is displayed on the last line. Then, the process returns to step 4 to process the next user operation.

That is, by summing up the trial man-hours (eg, described in units of seconds) entered in the “trial man-hour column” of the input entry, the total process time required to complete the product to be processed is calculated. Is processed and displayed as it is.

The trial calculation man-hours entered in the “trial calculation man-hour column” may be input by a production engineer.
When the product management database 12 is configured to manage standard trial calculation man-hours using the process number as a search key,
It is also possible to acquire the information and automatically input it into the “estimated man-hour column”. However, when performing this process, it is necessary to register a process number in advance.

It should be noted that, instead of generating the device PPL information from the component table, the image and attribute information are allocated to the parts and processes of the process product tree generated by the manufacturing simulator 20. Device PPL
When generating information, the manufacturing simulator 20
Since the man-hour can be calculated in accordance with the three-dimensional model data created by the D system 21, the "man-hour man-hour column"
, The man-hour value calculated by the manufacturing simulator 20 is input.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 27 that the user has not operated the “total button”,
Proceeding to step 29, it is determined whether or not the user has operated the “comparison table button” shown in FIG. 11, and when it is determined that the user has operated the “comparison table button”,
Proceeding to step 30, a process product tree to be compared and a comparison level are set.

That is, when the “comparison table button” is operated, as described below, the difference between the process product tree displayed on the system screen and the process product tree to be compared is determined. Is extracted and displayed on the system screen.
It sets the tree and the comparison level.

The process of setting the process / product tree to be compared is performed, for example, by displaying a list of process / product trees created so far and stored in the file to be compared, and selecting a process from the list.・
This is done by selecting the product tree.

This comparison level setting processing is performed, for example, to set a comparison level for extracting parts having different drawing numbers (corresponding to part numbers). Set a comparison level that regards parts with different parent drawing numbers even if they are different. In addition to differences between drawing numbers and parent drawing numbers, different parts with the same drawing number and same parent drawing number also have different hierarchy levels This is performed by displaying a selection screen having an option of setting a comparison level of being regarded as a component, and allowing the user to select from the selection screen.

Subsequently, at step 31, device PPL information to be compared is read from the device PPL information database 1, and the process product tree included in the read device PPL information and the process product tree displayed on the system screen are displayed. The difference is extracted by comparing it with the tree, and the difference is extracted and displayed on the system screen. Then, the process returns to step 4 to process the next user operation.

That is, the difference between the two process product trees is displayed, for example, in the form shown in FIG. At this time, when the user designates the row position of the comparison table and operates the "tree search button" of the comparison table, the cursor is associated with the process product tree portion which is the difference, so that any part can be determined. Is displayed, and when the user operates the "next search button" on the system screen, the cursor is associated with the next process / product tree that is the location of the difference. .

If the displayed process / product tree as the comparison source does not have a different point due to the smaller number, the processing is performed so that the cursor is associated with the position indicated by the parent drawing number. I have. Further, when the user operates the “comparison table storage button” of the comparison table, the created comparison table is stored in the specified file.

Here, the comparison result shown in FIG. 13 shows that the product of the process product tree displayed in the first row of the comparison table has one less single part (PWR PLATE, 11base). In the second row of the comparison table,
For products in the product tree, single parts (basic parts,
buhin01) is one more, and in the third row of the comparison table,
In the product of the displayed process product tree, the unit part (MB, pp00700-258k-prt) is shown to be one less, and in the fourth row of the comparison table, the product of the displayed process product tree is , Self procured parts (Connecti, pp6sw2n3-
061-prt).

The provision of this comparison function makes it possible to easily extract differences in parts and processes when there is a design change or the like.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 29 that the user has not operated the "comparison table button", the flow advances to step 32 to execute processing for designating a user operation, and then perform the next user operation. Return to step 4 to process.

As described above, when the apparatus PPL information generation program 101 receives, from the pre-processing program 100, the component table to which the attribute information, the component type, and the hierarchical level are added, the process of designating the component table is performed. Display the product tree as the initial tree and edit it by interacting with the production technician to complete the process product tree based on the production technician's know-how.

The process product tree completed in this way is used to manufacture the product to be processed.
In addition to describing what kind of parts need to be prepared, "B
Assemble the individual parts, then assemble them with the C unit parts, and then assemble them with the D individual parts and the E unit parts, and so on. It describes whether or not it should be.

Further, in the process product tree, attribute information of parts and processes required for manufacturing a product to be processed are described in association with each other, and images are registered in association with each other. Therefore, it can be said that the completed process product tree describes all the manufacturing information necessary for manufacturing the product to be processed.

From now on, the production engineer evaluates the production quality of the product to be designed at an early stage of the design, independently of the prototype, according to the information (device PPL information) displayed on the system screen. become able to.

Therefore, the parallel work of the design work and the mass production preparation work can be realized, thereby shortening the product development period and increasing the efficiency of the mass production preparation work.

Next, the processing executed by the work procedure manual creation program 300 developed in the manufacturing support apparatus 30 will be described in detail.

This work procedure manual creation program 300
Device PPL stored in device PPL information database 1
Using the information as input, the work procedure information stored in the work procedure information database 31 is used to execute a process of creating a work procedure manual by interacting with the user via the terminal 32.

As shown in FIG. 14, the work procedure information database 31 used at this time stores work procedure information assigned to a process (in which procedure work is performed for each procedure constituting the process, This is a key point of the work, which is composed of document information that describes such a reason and image information related to it) and the parts to be processed in the process Manages correspondence with drawing numbers.

Here, the drawing numbers registered in the work procedure information database 31 are created by merging the drawing numbers of the parts to be processed in the process and sorting them in alphabetical order. Also, when processing the same part a plurality of times, the same drawing numbers are not merged but are created by merging the numbers.

FIGS. 15 to 18 show one embodiment of the processing flow executed by the work procedure manual creation program 300. FIG.

When the work procedure manual creation program 300 is started from the manufacturing support processing selection program 303 in response to a work procedure manual creation request issued by the user, the work procedure manual creation program 300 has the processing flow shown in FIGS. First, in step 1, a product to be processed is selected by interacting with the user.

Subsequently, in step 2, the device PPL information indicated by the drawing number of the selected product is read from the device PPL information database 1, and in step 3, the process / product / product / PLL information describing the read device PPL information is described. The tree is displayed on the display screen of the terminal 32. For example, it is displayed on the left part of the main screen as shown in FIG.

Subsequently, in step 4, for each process in the process product tree, the parts to be processed in the process are specified, and the work procedure information database 31 is searched using the drawing numbers as search keys. Thus, it is determined whether or not the work procedure information is registered in the work procedure information database 31, and the registered process is performed.
By explicitly displaying the process portion in the process product tree, the user can know that the process is a process in which the work procedure information is registered.

Here, the process of specifying the component to be processed in the process is performed by tracing the process product tree to specify the component to be used in the process and the component to be completed in the process. .

Subsequently, in step 5, after waiting for a user operation on the main screen shown in FIG. 19, if a user operation is detected, the operation proceeds to step 6, where the user operation is performed to select a part in the process product tree. When it is determined whether the operation is a selection operation for a part or not, the process proceeds to step 7, where the image attached to the selected part is read from the image file system 13 and displayed on the main screen. After the display, the process returns to step 5 to wait for the next user operation.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 6 that the user operation is not a component selection operation, the flow advances to step 8 to determine whether or not the user operation is a selection operation for a process in the process product tree. Then, when it is determined that the operation is a selection operation for a process, the process proceeds to step 9 (the processing flow in FIG. 16), and it is determined whether or not a work procedure information input screen is being displayed on the main screen.

When it is determined that the work procedure information input screen is not being displayed according to this determination processing, the process proceeds to step 10, where the work procedure information input screen having an input entry as shown in FIG. Open the screen. That is, a work procedure information input screen used to create work procedure information to be registered in the work procedure information database 31 is opened.

Here, as can be seen from this figure, one process is composed of a plurality of procedures, and from this, the work procedure information of one process is replaced with the work procedure information assigned to the procedure constituting that process. It will be composed of an array.

On the other hand, in step 9, when it is determined that the work procedure information input screen is being displayed, step 1
Proceeding to 1, the work procedure information (work procedure information being displayed) input on the work procedure information input screen is associated with the drawing numbers of the parts to be processed in the process to which the work procedure information is allocated. Is registered in the work procedure information database 31.

That is, when a process in the process product tree is newly selected, the process is selected before entering the work procedure information input screen before the process of inputting the work procedure information for the process is started. The process is performed so that the work procedure information on the set process is registered in the work procedure information database 31.

When the processing of steps 10 and 11 is completed,
Subsequently, in step 12, the drawing number of the part to be processed in the selected process is specified, and the work number information is searched in the work procedure information database 31 using the drawing number as a search key.
Then, in accordance with the search processing, it is determined whether or not the work procedure information on the selected process is registered in the work procedure information database 31.

According to this determination processing, the work procedure information on the selected process is stored in the work procedure information database 31.
Step 1
The process proceeds to step 4 to display the registered work procedure information on the work procedure information input screen, and then returns to step 5 to wait for the next user operation.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the work procedure information on the selected step is not stored in the work procedure information database 31, the process proceeds to step 15, where the image file system 13 pastes the work step information to the selected step. Image, and displays it in the image entry of the work procedure information input screen according to the order of pasting.
According to the PL information, obtain the process diagram number and process name assigned to the process, display it on the work procedure information input screen, and specify the parts to be processed in the selected process according to the process product tree. According to the device PPL information, the part drawing number / part name / quantity / image information of the specified part is specified and displayed on the work procedure information input screen, and then the process proceeds to step 5 to wait for the next user operation. Return.

In this way, as shown in FIG. 19, when a step described in the process product tree is selected, the selection registered in the work procedure information database 31 is displayed on the work procedure information input screen. Operation procedure information (parts information and images if not registered) for the performed process is displayed. When a process described in the process product tree is selected as shown in FIG. On the procedure information input screen, work procedure information (parts information and images if not registered) for the selected step registered in the work procedure information database 31 is displayed. As shown in FIG. -When a process described in the product tree is selected, it is registered in the work procedure information database 31 on the work procedure information input screen. As will be appear (component information and the image if not registered) work procedure information about the selected process is.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 8 that the user operation is not a selection operation for a process in the process product tree, the process proceeds to step 16 (the processing flow in FIG. 17), and the user operation is performed by inputting work procedure information. It is determined whether a character input (input of document information) to the screen has been requested.

When it is determined in accordance with the determination processing in step 16 that the user's operation has requested a character input, the flow advances to step 17 to enter the character (document information) specified by the user in the input entry specified by the user.
And then wait for the next user operation in step 5
Return to

For example, in the “procedure column” provided for each procedure constituting the process, a text describing what procedure is to be performed is input, and in the “key point column”, Enter a sentence that explains what is the key point of the work, or in the "Reason" column, enter a sentence explaining that the reason explained in the key point is such a reason , Work name.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 16 that the user operation has not requested a character input on the work procedure information input screen, the process proceeds to step 18 in which the user operation requests addition of an image (the main screen is displayed). Is issued by operating an “add button” provided).

When it is determined in accordance with the determination processing in step 18 that the user operation has requested the addition of an image, the flow advances to step 19 to enter the user's image in the image entry of the work procedure information input screen pointed to by the “add button”. After the image to be specified is added (exchanged if registered), the process returns to step 5 to wait for the next user operation.

That is, by adopting a configuration in which a list of images stored in the image file system 13 is displayed, the user is allowed to select an image to be added from among the images, and displays the image indicated by the “add button”. It is added (exchanged) to the entry.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 18 that the user operation has not requested addition of an image,
Proceeding to step 20, it is determined whether or not the user operation has requested deletion of the image (issued by operating a “delete button” provided on the main screen).

When it is determined in accordance with the determination processing in step 20 that the user operation has requested deletion of an image, the process proceeds to step 21 and is registered in the image entry of the work procedure information input screen indicated by the “delete button”. After deleting the existing image, the process returns to step 5 to wait for the next user operation.

That is, since the image specified by the device PPL information or the image added (exchanged) by the user is registered in the image entry pointed to by the “delete button”, the image is deleted.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 20 that the user operation did not request deletion of the image,
Proceeding to step 22, it is determined whether or not the user operation has requested editing of the image (issued by operating an "edit button" provided on the main screen).

When it is determined in accordance with the determination processing in step 22 that the user operation has requested editing of the image, the flow advances to step 23 to open an image editing screen, in which an image entry pointed to by the "edit button" is entered. The registered image is displayed, the image is edited in response to the user operation, and the process returns to step 5 to wait for the next user operation.

That is, as shown in FIG. 23, an image editing screen is opened, the image registered in the image entry pointed to by the "edit button" is displayed, and the operation of the buttons prepared on this image editing screen is performed. In response to the above, by writing an arrow, a circle, a square, or a character in a circle or a square on the displayed image, the character (document input in step 17) is written. Then, the editing process of the image displayed on the work procedure information input screen is executed so that the information is easy to understand.

Here, images stored in the image file system 13 are allocated to various device PPL information. From now on, if the image editing process in step 23 becomes different from the image stored in the image file system 13, it is necessary to perform processing to register it as a new image in the image file system 13. become.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 22 that the user operation has not requested editing of the image,
Proceeding to step 24 (the processing flow of FIG. 18), it is determined whether or not the user operation has requested the exchange of work procedure information.

That is, as can be seen from FIG. 20, on the work procedure information input screen, the procedure corresponding to each procedure of the process to be input is associated with the procedure located thereon (the procedure executed before). For exchanging work procedure information between a button (upward “arrow button” shown in the figure) that instructs to exchange work procedure information and the procedure below (the procedure to be executed later) Since two types of "replacement buttons", ie, a button for performing the operation (a downward "arrow button" shown in the figure), are prepared, it is determined whether or not the "replacement button" has been operated.

When it is determined that the user operation has requested the exchange of the work procedure information according to this determination processing, the process proceeds to step 25, where the work procedure information indicated by the “exchange button” is replaced with the arrow of the “exchange button”. After exchanging with the work procedure information located in the direction (upper work procedure information or lower work procedure information), the process returns to step 5 to wait for the next user operation.

By providing this exchange function, when the user needs to exchange the input work procedure information between the procedures of the process, the user can input the work procedure information without re-entering the work procedure information from the beginning. You will be able to do it easily.

On the other hand, according to the judgment processing of step 24,
When it is determined that the user operation did not request the exchange of the work procedure information, the process proceeds to step 26, and it is determined whether or not the user operation has requested the output of the work procedure manual (issued by a pull-down menu). I do.

When it is determined by this determination process that the user operation has requested the output of the work procedure manual, the process proceeds to step 27, where the work procedure information input to the work procedure information input screen (the work procedure information being displayed) is displayed. ) Is registered in the work procedure information database 31 while associating with the drawing numbers of the parts to be processed in the process to which the work procedure information is allocated.

That is, when there is a request to output a work procedure manual, a process is performed so that the work procedure information last input on the work procedure information input screen is registered in the work procedure information database 31 before the output process is started. You do it.

Subsequently, in step 28, the work procedure information (registered in the work procedure information database 31) allocated to each process of the process product tree displayed on the left part of the main screen is sequentially accessed. By creating a list of work names described in FIG.
Is created and printed by the printer 33.

Subsequently, in step 29, the work procedure information (registered in the work procedure information database 31) allocated to each process of the process product tree displayed on the left part of the main screen is sequentially accessed. The work procedure information described therein is edited into a prescribed format to create a work procedure manual as shown in FIG. 25, which is printed by the printer 33, and the process is terminated.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 26 that the user operation did not request the output of the work procedure manual, the process proceeds to step 30 to execute the process specified by the user operation, and then execute the next user operation. Return to step 5 to wait for operation.

As described above, the work procedure manual creation program 300 adopts a configuration for displaying the process / product tree in which the device PPL information is described, and when the user selects a process in the tree, the process / product tree is selected. Displays an input screen in association with the selected process, displays an image pasted to the selected process and an input entry for work procedure information, and receives a user's editing operation on the input screen. The process is like creating a procedure manual.

Here, the work procedure manual does not adopt a configuration in which the work procedure manual is output by printing with the printer 33, but can be browsed by registering it in the web server as shown in FIG. Good.

The work procedure manual thus created is
Describe in a simple and easy-to-understand manner how to work and what are the key points of the work in manufacturing a product. .

By preparing this work procedure manual, a worker at the site can assemble a product without error and efficiently.

Next, the processing executed by the kitting list creation program 301 developed in the manufacturing support apparatus 30 will be described in detail.

This kitting list creation program 3
01 executes a process of creating a visual kitting list by interacting with the user via the terminal 32 using the device PPL information stored in the device PPL information database 1 as input.

FIGS. 27 and 28 show an embodiment of a processing flow executed by the kitting list creation program 301. FIG.

Kitting list creation program 301
Is started from the manufacturing support process selection program 303 in response to a kitting list creation request issued by the user, as shown in the process flow of FIGS. 27 and 28, first, in step 1, Select the product to be processed by interacting with the user.

Subsequently, in step 2, the device PPL information indicated by the drawing number of the selected product is read from the device PPL information database 1, and the parts described in the process product tree are specified.

Subsequently, in step 3, the system waits for a user to issue a request for selecting a kitting list creation method. When a selection request for a kitting list creation method is issued, the process proceeds to step 4, where the terminal 32 A selection screen for a kitting list creation method as shown in FIG. 29 is displayed on the display screen.

That is, a selection screen for a kitting list creation method used for setting the method of classifying the parts (single parts / unit parts) of the product to be processed and setting the handling method of the unit parts is displayed.

In the kitting list creation method selection screen shown in FIG. 29, as the selectable parts classification method, there is a classification method of “whole” indicating not to classify the parts described in the process product tree. , "By Workplace" that instructs to classify parts described in the process product tree by workplace
Classification method, "Unit unit parts", which instructs to classify the parts described in the process product tree by unit parts, and Classification of the parts described in the process product tree by selection items There is provided a classification method of "by selection item" that instructs the user to perform the selection.

Here, the kitting list creation program 301 employs a configuration in which, when the “selection item” button is operated by the user, an item list of component attribute information described in the device PPL information is displayed. The processing is performed so that the item selected from is set as the selection item.

In the selection screen of the kitting list creation method shown in FIG. 29, as a method of handling selectable unit parts, a handling method of “removing unit parts” instructing removal of unit parts from an output target,
Prepare a handling method called "unit parts only" that indicates that only the unit parts are to be output, and a handling method that is "all" that indicates that the entire parts (single parts and unit parts) are to be output. I have.

For example, as shown in FIG. 30, a unit part A is composed of a unit part B, a unit part C, and a single part D.
The unit component B is composed of a single component E and a single component F, the unit component C is composed of a unit component G and a single component H, and the unit component G is composed of a single component I and a single component J. As well as unit parts A /
Unit part B / single part D / single part E / single part F
It is assumed that the / single part I is processed at the work place α, and the unit part C / unit part G / single part H / single part J is processed at the work place β.

In this case, when the classification method “by work place” and the handling method “excluding unit parts” are selected, as shown in FIG. Is a single part D / single part E
/ Single part F / single part I, and the parts to be output classified into the work place β are single part H / single part J.

Also, a classification method “by work place”
When the handling method “only unit parts” is selected, as shown in FIG. 30, the parts to be output classified into the work place α are unit parts A / unit parts B, and the work place β The components to be output classified as are unit components C / unit components G.

A classification method of “by work place”
When the “all” handling method is selected, as shown in FIG. 30, the parts to be output classified into the work place α are unit parts A / unit parts B / single parts D / single parts E / single part F / single part I, and the parts to be output classified into the work place β are unit part C / unit part G / single part H / single part J.

On the other hand, in this case, when the classification method of “by unit part” and the handling method of “excluding unit part” are selected, as shown in FIG. The target part is a single part D
And the parts to be output classified into the unit part B are the single part E / single part F, and the unit part C
The components to be output classified as (1) are single components H, and the components to be classified as unit components G are single components I / single components J.

When the classification method “by unit part” and the handling method “only unit part” are selected, as shown in FIG. 31, the parts to be output classified into the unit part A are selected. Is unit component B / unit component C, there is no output target component classified as unit component B, and the output target component classified as unit component C is unit component G, and unit component G There are no components to be output classified as.

When the classification method “by unit part” and the handling method “all” are selected, FIG.
As shown in (1), the parts to be output classified as unit parts A are single parts D / unit parts B / unit parts C, and the parts to be output classified to unit parts B are single parts E The parts to be output classified as unit parts C are unit parts H / unit parts G, and the parts to be classified as unit parts G are unit parts I / single part J. Becomes

Returning to the description of the processing flow of FIG. 27 and FIG. 28, when the selection screen of the kitting list creation method as shown in FIG.
In step 5, by detecting a user operation on the selection screen, a component classification method and a unit component handling method are set.

Subsequently, in step 6, when it is detected that a search request is issued after a search request is issued from the user, the process proceeds to step 7, where the process, product, Classify the components described in the tree, and according to the set handling method,
A component to be output is extracted from the classified components.

That is, the parts described in the process product tree are classified according to the form illustrated in FIGS. 30 and 31, and the parts to be output are extracted from the classified parts. .

Subsequently, in step 8, a list of components described in the process product tree is displayed as shown in FIG. 32, while displaying the components to be output in a form that clearly indicates them.

That is, when only the single part is set as the output target by selecting the handling method “excluding unit parts”, for example, a red mark is turned on at the part of the single part to turn them on. A list of parts described in the process / product tree is displayed while clearly indicating that is a part to be output.

When only the unit component is set as the output target by selecting the handling method “unit component only”, for example, a red mark is turned on at the unit component to turn them on. A list of parts described in the process / product tree is displayed while clearly indicating that the part is a target of output.

By selecting the handling method of “all”, all parts (single parts and unit parts) are selected.
Is set as an output target, for example, the parts described in the process product tree are illuminated with red marks at all parts to clearly indicate that they are output targets. Is displayed.

Subsequently, in step 9 (the processing flow of FIG. 28), when the user issues a correction instruction in response to the display of the parts list, the part to be output is output in response to the correction instruction. By executing a correction instruction to remove the component from the target or to set a component that is not the output target as the output target, the component to be output is finally determined in a form desired by the user.

Subsequently, in step 10, waiting for the output request from the user to be issued, and detecting that the output request is issued, the process proceeds to step 11, where the image of the component to be output is stored in the image file. A kitting list (consisting of a plurality of pages) as shown in FIG. 33 is created by creating a list of images of components to be output while reading from the system 13 and sorting according to the classification result, and Printing is performed at step 33, and the process is terminated.

Here, the kitting list shown in FIG. 33 employs a configuration in which six component images can be posted on one page. When this posting configuration is adopted, the kitting list creation program 301 creates and outputs a kitting list in a form of a page break when the classification result is changed, for example, when the work place is changed.

The kitting list creation program 301 processes the kitting list by creating a kitting list by describing the name, drawing number, used quantity, etc. of the part in association with the part image. Further, FIG.
Although not shown in FIG. 3, processing is performed so that information indicating to which category the component belongs is described in each page.

As described above, the kitting list creation program 301 adopts a configuration for obtaining the list information of the apparatus PPL information, and outputs the kitting list from the list information according to the extraction condition of the selected component. By extracting parts and generating an image list of those parts, processing is performed to create a visual kitting list composed of an image list of the parts. At this time, the components are classified according to the selected component classification method, and processing is performed so as to create a kitting list classified according to the classification result.

Here, regarding the kitting list,
Rather than adopting a configuration in which printing is performed by the printer 33 and outputting, printing may be performed by registering in a web server.

[0200] The kitting list created in this manner describes in a visual form which components must be prepared for manufacturing a product.

By preparing this kitting list, a worker at the site can arrange the components used for assembling the product without error and efficiently.

Next, the processing executed by the advance preparation progress data creation program 302 developed in the manufacturing support apparatus 30 will be described in detail.

The advance preparation progress data creation program 30
2 is started from the work procedure manual creation program 300, the kitting list creation program 301, and the manufacturing support processing selection program 303, and creates advance preparation progress information by interacting with the user via the terminal 32;
Based on this, a process of creating a preparation progress confirmation table is executed.

FIGS. 34 to 36 show an embodiment of a processing flow executed by the advance preparation progress material creation program 302. FIG.

Advance preparation progress data creation program 302
3 is started from the work procedure manual creation program 300 or the kitting list creation program 301.
As shown in the processing flow of FIG. 4 to FIG. 36, first, in step 1, a product processed by the program of the starting source is set as a processing target.

Here, the advance preparation progress data creation program 302 may be started not by the work procedure manual creation program 300 nor the kitting list creation program 301 but by the manufacturing support processing selection program 303. At this time, a product to be processed is selected (set) by interacting with the user.

Subsequently, in step 2, a version number management target component described in the device PPL information read by the starting program (work procedure manual creation program 300 or kitting list creation program 301) is extracted.

Here, the manufacturing support processing selection program 30
3 is started, the device PPL information of the product selected by the user is read from the device PPL information database 1 to extract the version number managed component.

Subsequently, in step 3, a display screen of advance preparation progress information as shown in FIG. 37 is displayed on the display screen of the terminal 32.

That is, a display screen of advance preparation progress information on the development process displayed by selecting “development process” (management item values are registered in advance), and an assembly displayed by selecting “assembly preparation” A display screen of advance preparation progress information on preparation (management item values are registered in advance), and a display screen of advance preparation progress information on production mode displayed by selecting "production mode" (the management item values are Registered) is displayed.

Here, in the advance preparation progress information display screen shown in this figure, in addition to these three display screens, the display screen of the version number management target parts displayed by selecting “version number management target parts” is displayed. It is assumed to have.

Subsequently, in step 4, after waiting for a user operation on the advance preparation progress information display screen and detecting a user operation, in step 5 the user operation requests display of advance preparation progress information on the development process ( When it is determined whether or not this display has been requested (determined by selecting “development process”), it is determined that this display has been requested. After that, the process returns to step 4 to wait for the next user operation.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 5 that the user operation has not requested display of the advance preparation progress information on the development process, the process proceeds to step 7 and the user operation is performed on the advance preparation progress information on the assembly preparation. It is determined whether or not the display has been requested (issued by selecting “assembly preparation”). When it is determined that the display has been requested, the process proceeds to step 8 where the advance preparation progress information for the assembly preparation is displayed. After displaying the display screen, the process returns to step 4 to wait for the next user operation.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 7 that the user operation has not requested display of the advance preparation progress information on the assembly preparation, the process proceeds to step 9 and the user operation is performed on the advance preparation progress information on the production form. It is determined whether or not a display has been requested (issued by selecting the "production mode"). When it is determined that the display has been requested, the process proceeds to step 10, where the advance preparation progress information for the production mode is displayed. After displaying the display screen, the process returns to step 4 to wait for the next user operation.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 9 that the user operation did not request display of advance preparation progress information on the production mode, the process proceeds to step 11 (the processing flow in FIG. 35), and It is determined whether or not the display of the number-managed parts has been requested (issued by selecting “version-managed parts”), and when it is determined that this display has been requested, the process proceeds to step S12. 38
Is displayed, and the version management target component extracted in step 2 is displayed on the display screen. Then, the process returns to step 4 to wait for the next user operation.

By referring to the display of the list of version number management target parts, the user can know which of the parts of the product to be processed is to be subjected to version number management. Will be able to

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 11 that the user operation has not requested display of the version management target component, the flow advances to step 13 to display the user operation on the advance preparation progress information display screen. It is determined whether or not the item value of “management item” has been selected, and when it is determined that the user operation has selected the management item value, step 14 is executed.
Then, it is determined whether or not the advance preparation progress information display screen in which the item value is selected is for the development process.

When it is determined that the user operation has selected the item value displayed on the advance preparation progress information display screen for the development process by this determination processing, the process proceeds to step 15 and the development process as shown in FIG. An input screen for advance preparation progress information is displayed, and a user input corresponding thereto is received, thereby inputting advance preparation progress information of the development process.

Subsequently, in step S16, the input information is displayed on the advance preparation progress information display screen for the development process, and the input information is transferred to a preparation progress confirmation table having a data structure as shown in FIG. (Transfer to the table portion related to the development process), and then return to step 4 to wait for the next user operation.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 41, advance preparation progress information on the development process is input and displayed.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 14 that the user operation has not selected the item value displayed on the advance preparation progress information display screen for the development process, the process proceeds to step 17 where the user operation is assembled. It is determined whether or not an item value displayed on the preparation progress information display screen for preparation has been selected.

When it is determined that the user operation has selected the item value displayed on the preparatory progress information display screen for assembling preparation, the process proceeds to step S18, and the preparatory progress information for assembling preparation is determined. Is displayed, and the user's input to the input screen is displayed to input advance preparation progress information of the assembly preparation.

Subsequently, in step 19, the input information is displayed on a preparation progress information display screen for assembling preparation, and the input information is transferred to a preparation progress confirmation table having a data structure as shown in FIG. (Transfer to the table section related to assembly preparation), and then return to step 4 to wait for the next user operation.

In this way, as shown in FIG. 42, the advance preparation progress information relating to the assembly preparation is input and displayed.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 17 that the user operation has not selected an item value displayed on the advance preparation progress information display screen for assembling preparation,
When determining that the user operation has selected the item value displayed on the advance preparation progress information display screen for the production mode,
Proceeding to step 20, the input screen of the advance preparation progress information for the production mode is displayed, and upon receiving the user input thereto, the advance progress information of the production mode is input.

Subsequently, in step 21, the input information is displayed on the advance preparation progress information display screen for the production mode, and the input information is transcribed to a preliminary progress confirmation table having a data structure as shown in FIG. (Transfer to the table portion relating to the production mode), and then return to step 4 to wait for the next user operation.

In this way, as shown in FIG. 43, the advance preparation progress information on the production mode is input and displayed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 13 that the user operation has not selected the management item value displayed on the advance preparation progress information display screen, the flow advances to step 22 to check the advance operation progress check. When it is determined whether or not the display of the table has been requested, and when it is determined that the user operation has requested the display of the preparation progress confirmation table, the process proceeds to step 23, and the preparation progress confirmation as shown in FIG. The table is displayed, and if there is a print request, the advance preparation progress check table is printed using the printer 33, and the process ends.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 22 that the user operation has not requested the display of the advance preparation progress confirmation table, the process proceeds to step 24, where the processing for designating the user operation is executed, and The process returns to step 4 to wait for the user operation.

As described above, when the advance preparation progress data creation program 302 is started from the work procedure manual creation program 300, the work procedure manual creation program 30
0 inputs preparatory progress information relating to a product for which a work procedure manual is to be created, converts it into a table format, and outputs it as a preparatory progress confirmation table.

When the kitting list creation program 301 is started, the kitting list creation program 301 inputs advance preparation progress information on a product for which a kitting list is to be created, converts the information into a table format, and converts the information into a table format. It processes so that it is output as a progress confirmation table.

By preparing the advance preparation progress confirmation table, a worker at the site can understand at a glance what kind of preparations must be made when manufacturing a product. .

FIG. 44 illustrates the basic configuration of the present invention described above.

As shown in this figure, the present invention adopts a configuration in which device PPL information is generated from a component table and three-dimensional model data created by a CAD system. By preparing a preparation progress confirmation table, it is possible to evaluate the manufacturing quality of the designed product without depending on the prototype, thereby realizing the parallel work of the design work and the mass production preparation work, This shortens the product development period and increases the efficiency of mass production preparation work.

As described above, the process product tree described in the device PPL information generated at this time indicates what kind of parts need to be prepared to manufacture the product to be processed. And assemble "A single part of the product body with B single part, then assemble it with C unit part, then assemble it with D single part and E unit part, ..." Describes how to assemble those parts.

Further, in this process product tree, attribute information of parts and processes required for manufacturing a product to be processed is described in association with each other, and images are registered in association with each other. Therefore, it can be said that the completed process product tree describes all the manufacturing information necessary for manufacturing the product to be processed.

From now on, the production technician evaluates the production quality of the product to be designed at an early stage of the design according to the information (apparatus PPL information) displayed on the system screen without depending on the prototype. become able to.

Therefore, a process for acquiring product specifications from a customer via a network, a process for starting product design based on the product specifications, and a process for designing products before the product design is completed. Based on the obtained product design information, a virtual product prototype is produced on a computer to evaluate the manufacturing quality, and the result is fed back to the product design. A process for starting mass production, a process for shipping produced products to a customer based on a delivery instruction from a customer notified via a network, and a delivery for a shipment notified via a network. A new product manufacturing method as shown in FIG. 45, which includes a process of receiving a notification, can be realized.

According to the new product manufacturing method, a network can be used to exchange electronic documents with a customer, design and mass-produce a product without trial production, and deliver the product to the customer. become.

[0240]

As described above, according to the present invention, component information of a product and process information are described in a tree structure, and information of an image to be attached to the component and information of the process are attached to those processes. A configuration for creating list information describing the information of the image to be performed is adopted.

The tree structure described by the list information created in this manner describes what parts need to be prepared in order to manufacture a product. What kind of procedure should be used to assemble these parts, such as assembling the B part to the part, then assembling it with the C part, then assembling it with the D part and the E part, etc. It is described whether it is good.

Further, in this tree structure, attribute information and process information of parts required for manufacturing a product to be processed are described in association with each other, and images related to those parts and processes are associated with each other. It is registered. Therefore, it can be said that this tree structure (list information) describes all manufacturing information necessary for manufacturing a product.

Thus, the production engineer can evaluate the production quality of a product on a desk using the tree structure described in the list information without producing a prototype.

That is, according to the present invention, a production engineer can evaluate the production quality of a designed product without depending on a prototype, thereby realizing a parallel operation of a design operation and a mass production preparation operation. As a result, the product development period can be shortened and the mass production preparation work can be made more efficient.

In adopting this configuration, according to the present invention, a tree structure describing list information is displayed, and when a process such as a tree is selected by a user such as a production engineer, the tree process is selected. Display the input screen in association with the input screen, display the image attached to the selected process information and the input area for the work procedure information, and receive the editing operation on the input screen to perform the work. The procedure information is created and the work procedure manual is created by arranging them in the order of the steps described in the list information.

The work procedure manual created in this way is
It is prepared for workers at the site, and in manufacturing the product, what kind of procedure is performed, what is the key point of the work, and the reason is that According to the present invention, this work procedure manual can also be created at the stage of mass production preparation as one work of manufacturing quality evaluation.

In adopting this configuration, according to the present invention, the components described in the list information are classified according to the classification method specified by the user such as a production engineer, and the user of the production engineer or the like is classified. A configuration is adopted in which components to be output are extracted according to a designated handling method, and a visual kitting list is created by creating an image list of the components to be output while classifying the components according to the classification result.

The kitting list created in this way is prepared for a worker at the site.
Although it is a visual description of which components must be prepared for manufacturing a product, according to the present invention, this kitting list is also used as one operation of manufacturing quality evaluation to prepare for mass production. Can be created in stages.

At the time of adopting this configuration, the present invention employs a configuration in which advance preparation progress information of a product is input and converted into a table format to create a advance preparation progress confirmation table for the product. .

The advance preparation progress confirmation table created in this way is prepared for a worker at the site.
It describes what kind of preparations must be made before manufacturing a product. According to the present invention, however, this preliminary preparation progress check table is also used as one of the operations for manufacturing quality evaluation. It can be created at the stage of mass production preparation.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to evaluate the production quality of a product to be designed without depending on a prototype, thereby realizing a parallel operation of a design operation and a mass production preparation operation. As a result, it is possible to shorten the product development period and increase the efficiency of mass production preparation work.

According to the present invention, a process for obtaining a product specification from a customer via a network, a process for starting a product design based on the product specification, and a process for completing the product design In addition, based on the product design information designed up to that point, a virtual product trial production is performed on a computer to evaluate the manufacturing quality, and a process of feeding back the result to the product design, and a completed product design A process of starting mass production of the product based on the information, a process of shipping the produced product to the customer based on a delivery instruction from the customer notified via the network, and a process of notifying via the network And a process of receiving a delivery notification for shipment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an embodiment of a device PPL information generator.

FIG. 4 is an embodiment of a manufacturing support apparatus.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a component list.

FIG. 6 is a processing flow of a preprocessing program.

FIG. 7 is a processing flow of an apparatus PPL information generation program.

FIG. 8 is a processing flow of a device PPL information generation program.

FIG. 9 is a processing flow of a device PPL information generation program.

FIG. 10 is a processing flow of a device PPL information generation program.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a work procedure information database.

FIG. 15 is a processing flow of a work procedure manual creation program.

FIG. 16 is a processing flow of a work procedure manual creation program.

FIG. 17 is a processing flow of a work procedure manual creation program.

FIG. 18 is a processing flow of a work procedure manual creation program.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram of a work procedure manual.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram of a work procedure manual.

FIG. 27 is a processing flow of a kitting list creation program.

FIG. 28 is a processing flow of a kitting list creation program.

FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen.

FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram of a kitting list creation method selection process.

FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram of a kitting list creation method selection process.

FIG. 32 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen.

FIG. 33 is an explanatory diagram of a kitting list.

FIG. 34 is a processing flow of a preparatory progress material creation program.

FIG. 35 is a processing flow of a preparatory progress material creation program.

FIG. 36 is a processing flow of an advance preparation progress material creation program.

FIG. 37 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen.

FIG. 38 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen.

FIG. 39 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen.

FIG. 40 is an explanatory diagram of a preparation progress confirmation table.

FIG. 41 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen.

FIG. 42 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen.

FIG. 43 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen.

FIG. 44 is an explanatory diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 45 is an explanatory diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 46 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Device PPL information database 10 Device PPL information generator 11 Composition table database 12 Production / product management database 13 Image file system 14 Terminal 20 Manufacturing simulator 21 CAD system 22 Terminal 30 Manufacturing support device 31 Work procedure information database 32 Terminal 33 Printer

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Masayuki Miyakawa 98 Uno-ki-nu, Unoki-cho, Kawakita-gun, Ishikawa Prefecture F-term in PFU Co., Ltd. 5B046 BA08 GA01 GA02 JA01 JA04 KA05 5B049 BB07 EE41

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A process for acquiring a product specification from a customer via a network, a process for starting a product design based on the product specification, and a design process before the product design is completed. Based on the product design information, a virtual product prototype is created on a computer to evaluate the manufacturing quality, and the results are fed back to the product design.The process of product evaluation is based on the completed product design information. A process for starting mass production, a process for shipping produced products to a customer based on a delivery instruction from the customer notified via a network, and a process for shipping the product notified via the network. Receiving the delivery notice. 2. A product manufacturing support method for supporting product manufacturing, wherein component information of a product and process information are described in a tree structure, information of an image attached to the component, and information of the process. A first processing step of creating list information describing information of an image to be pasted; and a second processing step of creating a work procedure manual by creating work procedure information including an image to be allocated to the above-described process. A product manufacturing support method, comprising: a processing step; and a third processing step of creating a visual kitting list including an image list of the components. 3. The product manufacturing support method according to claim 2, further comprising a fourth processing step of inputting advance preparation progress information of the product and converting the information into a table format to create a advance preparation progress confirmation table. A product manufacturing support method. 4. The product manufacturing support method according to claim 2, wherein in a first processing step, a table of components of the product is obtained, and the components are displayed in a tree structure, and are displayed according to an interactive process. In addition to editing the tree structure while adding and deleting components according to the above, process information necessary for manufacturing a product is added, and further, attribute information is attached to the component, and the component and the process are added. A method for supporting product manufacturing, characterized in that list information is created by attaching an image to a product. 5. The product manufacturing support method according to claim 2, wherein, in a first processing step, design information of the product created by the CAD system is obtained, the product is visually displayed, and the product configuration is obtained. The product is displayed in a tree structure, and the tree structure is edited while adding and deleting components as necessary according to the interactive processing, and process information required for manufacturing the product is added. A product manufacturing support method characterized in that attribute information is attached to a component and a list is created by attaching an image to the component and the process. 6. The product manufacturing support method according to claim 2, wherein a tree structure describing the list information is displayed in the second processing step, and the process information of the tree structure is selected. When the input screen is displayed, an input screen is displayed in association with the process information, an image pasted to the process information and an input area for work procedure information are displayed on the input screen, and the input screen is edited. A product manufacturing support method characterized in that work procedure information is created by receiving an operation, and the work procedure manual is created by arranging them in the order in which the list information is described. 7. The product manufacturing support method according to claim 2, wherein, in a third processing step, a method of classifying components and a method of handling unit parts are selected, and the classification method is performed. Kitting by classifying the components described in the list information according to the above, extracting components to be output according to the handling method, and creating an image list of the components to be output while classifying the components according to the classification result. Creating a list is a product manufacturing support method.