A conceptual approach managing design resource

This paper proposes a conceptual approach for managing design resources which supports continuous product development and collaborative design. Most of the current product design exists in the form of CAD files that contain geometry-oriented product data. This data is not sufficient for reuse in the design of a new product. This paper proposes an enhanced product model which is understandable, customzable and reusable. A model enhancer (ME) helps to transfer the CAD model into this enhanced model which is a reusable design resource, The ME is implemented as a software component, so that its exposed methods can be reused at the programming level. We believe that this approach to design resource management (DRM) will benefit modern product development. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.