Abstract
In an iterative design process, a large amount of engineering data needs to be processed. Owing to the limitations of traditional software, the engineering data cannot be handled simultaneously and are usually divided into geometric and non-geometric data in order to be managed by separate systems. In the spring industry, which requires repeated definition of complicated shapes, design engineers need special interfaces for efficient product design and drafting. In this paper, the CAD-integrated engineering-data-management system is developed and implemented for spring design, in order to simplify the drafting and data-management processes. This research focuses on three main issues that can be also applied to other applications, particularly for component designs. These issues include: (1) product model definition, (2) CAD-database communication, and (3) human-machine interface development. With the definition of product model, the system identifies which data should be accessed from data files to generate the proper drawings, and which database structure should be constructed for the application domain. By the use of CAD-database communication, when engineers modify the geometric or non-geometric parameters of a product design, these parametric values can be simultaneously updated in the database. Furthermore, the support of human-machine interface enhances the efficiency in routine manipulation of support engineering data management and design/redesign processes. Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.