Classification approaches for standard parts to aid design reuse

Abstract Standard components or parts make up a large proportion of engineering assemblies and systems. They are increasingly chosen from what is known as the electronic catalogue. These are being developed with the use of a variety of techniques to enable the reuse of both the part and the experience associated with that part. This paper deals with the current state of these techniques and the additional ones being developed, e.g. considering systems and assemblies, classification and knowledge-based methods. It is considered that these new methods will ultimately enable the more generic exploitation of design reuse.