Applying KBE Technologies to the Early Phases of Multidisciplinary Product Design

Abstract

State-of-the-art tools and strategies applied in the early phases of product design offer tremendous benefits for businesses dealing with complex engineering processes — in terms of cost, time to market and product innovation. However, the early design phases are not only inherently complex; by definition, design goals are often loosely-defined and subject to frequent changes. With this in mind, the ideal software for supporting these critical process phases combines automation power with outstanding flexibility, user interaction, transparency and team collaboration options. This paper presents the Pacelab Suite, an integrated software environment specifically developed to support multidisciplinary design investigations. Central to the Pacelab approach is the use of a consistent object-oriented data model and knowledge based working techniques in capturing, formalizing and applying engineering knowledge.