International Scientific Journals
of Scientific Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering "Industry 4.0"

The paper presents the process of automated designing and parametric modeling of grapple buckets using the CAD system. The presented grapple buckets are designed for bulk materials and they are part of the grapple construction. Grapples are installed on cranes, excavators and other specialized machines. A methodology has been developed that covers all stages of design – from the creation of 3D models of the parts, sub-assemblies and assemblies, to the generation of design documentation, using template files. The presented approach allows the creation of parametric models with multiple configurations, which cover different variants of the products. Using the presented methodology leads to a reduction in the volume of created documentation and optimizes the design process. Data management within a PDM system ensures centralized storage, actuality and accessibility of information.

In this work it is assumed that the results of the conceptual design are presented in the form of extended structural scheme. The structural scheme allows to be supplemented with information that specifies the important decisions which secure the expected functionality of the product. There is a propounded approach to integrate structural scheme, loaded with additional design information, into CAD model. This approach allows to automatically generate CAD models of parts that include skeleton models and mechanical interfaces as well as CAD model of assembly in finished state. This way more realistic CAD models containing the actual geometric relationships between the components would be created. On the other hand, the decisions taken at the conceptual design stage are automatically transferred to the CAD model, which reduces the treadmill work associated with its creation.