The main goal of this master thesis is to explore available methods for extracting component relations from the CAD model in order to support traceability. Siemens NX is used as a CAD tool because Daimler recently decided it will use that platform in the future product development process. At the time of writing this thesis, they are still in transition from CATIA. Some of the methods are based on Siemens NX features that are used while designing the product and others are developed based on new ideas that use information provided by the software API. The methods found are described in detail through the thesis. A proper algorithm is developed for each individual method that has been identified as valid for extracting relations between two or more components. Developed algorithms are then put into proof of concept using Java in Eclipse IDE which uses NX Open API to communicate with the available Siemens NX CAD data. Collected data is used to extract relations. Based on relations extracted from the CAD model, the DSM matrix is created. DSM matrices have the possibility to support traceability providing an additional way of looking at the system architecture and therefore are chosen as a tool in this thesis. Also, DSM post- processing methods enable an additional manipulation of data to get a better overview of the system architecture. Each post-processing method has certain goals and therefore the majority of them that are important for this thesis are explained in detail. The final DSM is created based on the CAD model created for the purposes of this master thesis. Results are discussed and compared with a manually created DSM which is considered as a valid reference.
