Guest editorial

Abstract

Attention has recently focused on improving the information and knowledge flow between design and manufacturing. Interfacing Computer Aided Design (CAD) with Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) systems has helped this information flow while also improving both processes. Once CAD and CAM systems were introduced the obvious next step to (1) decrease a product's time-to-market and its costs, while (2) increasing the product's quality, has been to utilize knowledge based system technology during both the design and the manufacturing phases of a product. Unfortunately, the knowledge based systems that we have developed have been designed as stand-alone components. These have been built using a variety of implementation philosophies, styles of reasoning and are deployed over distributed computing environments. The companies with large investments in design and manufacturing automation, as well as in expert system technology have come to realize that achieving the two goals stated above will require the integration of such diverse systems in ways that will allow their coordination and cooperation. This special issue of theJournal of Intelligent Manufacturing has brought together reports of recent research whose goal was this type of integration.