A Concurrent Engineering Experiment Based on a Co-Operative and Object Oriented Design Methodology

Abstract

Designing a new product progresses from needs and function specifications to a detailed description of its physical components. The design activity involves many contributors throughout the life cycle of the product, which starts with its specification and ends with its destruction. This paper presents an object oriented design methodology integrated into a human based and co-operative design life cycle. In order to apply this methodology to industrial design projects, we defined two software environments using human motor activity modelling and simulation linked to a Computer Supported Collaborative Workshop in Design (CSCW). This methodology and the software tools are now applied to student design projects in the field of concurrent engineering.