A system for the design and manufacture of feature-based parts through the Internet

The Internet has enabled the development of applications for supporting the design and manufacturing of industrial parts and products. Some actions have been performed by some research groups in different parts of the world aiming at conceiving product modeling systems based on the technology of features to allow information sharing, both for the activities related to product development and for manufacturing. This paper describes the implementation of the WebMachining system (http://www.WebMachining.AlvaresTech.com) developed in a context of e-Mfg and concurrent engineering, aimed at integrating CAD/CAPP/CAM for the remote manufacturing of feature-based cylindrical parts with symmetrical and asymmetrical features through the Internet, using an approach based on multi-agent systems. The information referring to the features is manipulated through a relational database management system. The graphic user interface (GUI) is implemented in Java and HTML. In this GUI, the user inputs the information on the design features that compose the part. Then these data are sent to the server. Since the part is cylindrical, the user models the part in two dimensions, and it can be visualized as three-dimensional through VRML. A database was implemented that stores the information on the product modeled by features, containing information associated with the form features, material features, tolerance features and technological features. These combined pieces of information allow the mapping of design features into machining features, which is fundamental for process planning. The database information is described in this article through the IDEF1X information model.