Materials Information for CAD/CAM

This book is about the use of materials information in engineering design and manufacture, and how computerized CAD/CAM systems change the ways in which this information can be effectively used. It is estimated that the number of large materials databases will increase by a factor of at least ten during the 1990s, as companies computerize their data holdings to make them truly compatible with, and exploitable by, developing computerized engineering systems. Valid and accessible materials information is vital in terms not only of successful competition in industry but also of recent developments in product liability. The development of materials databases is a ''new'' subject and this is the first technical review of a fast developing area. Publically funded development programmes include the (international) Versailles Agreement on Materials and Standards as well as initiatives under the Commission of the European Communities and, in the USA, the National Institute for Standards and Technology and the Materials Property Data Network. This book tackles the challenge of producing appropriate, correct and useful databases, models, knowledge-based systems and integrated CAD/CAM concurrent engineering design environments. Dr. Sargent reviews techniques for integrating the fragmented body of materials information and making it available to design engineers. The discussion is firmly anchored to examples from the manufacturing, automotive and aerospace industries Materials Information for CAD/CAM addresses the problem of designing databases, expert system, communication systems, and decision support aids that can be integrated with manual and software-supported tasks in design and manufacture, in CAD and CAM. This book covers tasks of materials selection, materials process simulation, and materials modelling that involve access to materials identification or property information. Organized into eight chapters, this book begins with an overview of the use of materials information in engineering design and manufacture. This text then explains how computerized CAD/CAM systems change the ways in which this information has been effectively used. Other chapters consider the organizational and technical aspects of data interchange in general. This book discusses as well the requirements in representing materials information in databases. The final chapter deals with integrated design environments with respects to their capabilities for utilizing materials information. This book is intended to be suitable for anyone who is planning the construction, management, or use of any kind of engineering materials property information system. Content: Front Matter , Page iii Copyright , Page iv Preface , Pages vii-viii Chapter 1 - Introduction and reader's guide , Pages 1-6 Chapter 2 - Materials selection , Pages 7-28 Chapter 3 - Representing information , Pages 29-58 Chapter 4 - Data interchange technologies , Pages 59-78 Chapter 5 - Decisions and selection , Pages 79-108 Chapter 6 - Information quality , Pages 109-130 Chapter 7 - Knowledge-based systems , Pages 131-140 Chapter 8 - CAD/CAM environments , Pages 141-153 Glossary , Pages 155-156 References , Pages 157-164 Index , Pages 165-168 Discusses the use of materials information in engineering design and manufacture and how computerized CAD/CAM systems can change the ways in which this information can be effectively used.