Incorporating environmentally conscious materials selection in CAD system

The article describes a practical challenge in software development for implementing an environmentally conscious materials evaluation tool in an existing CAD system to optimise product design through eco-selection of materials. Data input and output modules of this materials evaluator communicate with designers through the hardware of the CAD system. Designers enter design and evaluation conditions by choosing. appropriate items listed in menu tables presented on-screen. The evaluation engine automatically executes the process to estimate potentials of materials stored in a relational database, and results are presented with four different charts. Product evaluation is made by a sum of parts or blocks evaluation. One advantage of this synthesis method is that total estimation is possible even if each part´s indices and value are defined by different functional performances respectively with weighting