Concurrent product/process design with multiple representations of parts

The need for concurrency in design and manufacturing is supported in a sheet metal design system by doing preliminary process design at the detail product design stage. This design with features approach represents the evolving part form to the designer in multiple process domains and at multiple stages of a sequential process. Each part of part form representations defines the conceptualized process which transforms it from one to the other. At this modeling level, processes are reversible so that design activity can take place in any of the domains and be transferred to the others. This concept is fully implemented in a sheet metal design/manufacturing system in which preliminary process design occurs concurrently with product design and the normal representation ambiguities of wireframe and flat panel models are eliminated