Intelligent Product Design and Manufacture

This chapter presents the concepts and philosophy underlying an intelligent product design and manufacturing (IPDM) system developed at the Centre for Flexible Manufacturing Research and Development at McMaster University. The overall objective of the IPDM research program is to: (1) investigate the basic issues involved in integrating the design and manufacturing task planning activities; and (2) demonstrate the feasibility and potential of applying artificial intelligence, expert systems and feature-based modelling concepts to these activities. The project addresses the fundamental problem(s) of establishing an effective link between computer-aided design (CAD) and manufacture (CAM).