Integration of Process Knowledge into Design Support Systems: Proceedings of the 1999 CIRP International Design Seminar, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands, 24-26 March, 1999 - Hardcover

Design is a fundamental creative human activity. This certainly applies to the design of artefacts, the realisation of which has to meet many constraints and ever raising criteria. The world in which we live today, is enormously influenced by the human race. Over the last century, these artefacts have dramatically changed the living conditions of humans. The present wealth in very large parts of the world, depends on it. All the ideas for better and new artefacts brought forward by humans have gone through the minds of designers, who have turned them into feasible concepts and subsequently transformed them into realistic product models. The designers have been, still are, and will remain the leading 'change agents' in the physical world. Manufacturability of artefacts has always played a significant role in design. In pre­ industrial manufacturing, the blacksmith held the many design and realisation aspects of a product in one hand. The synthesis of the design and manufacturing aspects took, almost implicitly, place in the head of the man. All the knowledge and the skills were stored in one person. Education and training took place along the line of many years of apprenticeship. When the production volumes increased, -'assembling to measure' was no longer tolerated and production efficiency became essential - design, process planning, production planning and fabrication became separated concerns. The designers created their own world, separated from the production world. They argued that restrictions in the freedom of designing would badly influence their creativity in design.

This book presents selected papers from the 1999 CIRP International Design Seminar. Design is a fundamental creative human activity. This certainly applies to the design of artifacts, the realisation of which has to meet ever-increasing demands. All ideas for new and better artifacts have been elaborated by designers, who have turned them into feasible concepts and finally transformed them into realisable product models.
Design knowledge is difficult to capture. Design, as a process, is difficult to organise. The analysis and structuring of design (process) knowledge is necessary in order to build design support systems. Furthermore, substantial research effort is still needed to develop design as a `science of synthesis'. The principles of synthesis need to be better understood before design methods and computer support tools can be developed, which are fit for integration in the industrial manufacturing process.
This volume includes an introduction to design theories and methods, design and engineering processes, the role of computer support tools, and artificial intelligence in design support. The other contributions can be divided roughly into two categories. The first category deals with design support tools in relation to such topics as conceptual design, collaborative design, modelling, design optimization and evaluation. The second category treats the control of design and engineering processes in relation to subjects such as product and process knowledge, process representation, synthesis of thought and methods, integration, and concurrency.