A 3D knowledge-based router for wiring in aerospace vehicles

The design of electrical wiring and hydraulic/pneumatic piping routes in aircraft is a long and repetitive process which is largely done by hand. Presented in this paper is progress in the development of a knowledge based routing system which automates much of the routing process using intelligent algorithms and interchangeable design rules. The system reads three dimensional CAD models to be navigated and source and target locations, and outputs wire/pipe geometry and other information required to describe the system path.