OBJECT-ORIENTED HYBRID INTELLIGENT CAD SYSTEM

In this paper we present the Kropman ICAD project, the development of a computer aided design system. Up to the present the use of the computer in the engineering phase of building services design is limited to automized drawing, assisted by a number of stand-alone applications. The future CAD system must be able to support the entire engineering process. This can be achieved by providing the CAD system with an amount of knowledge, which implies an intelligent CAD system. By means of a hierarchical, functional structuring of the installation, based on a metamodel, it is possible to consider the entire system from different views. The base of the ICAD concept is an object-oriented specification language, developed by Kropman B.V. With this language the model can be described and processed until it meets the functional specifications. Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a new programming concept rapidly entering mainstream software development. The combination of artificial intelligence and OOP is being heralded as the technology that will lead to computer integrated manufacturing, which could improve competitiveness.