Users View

The complexity of communications systems and products developed and manufactured by AT&T demands a sophisticated set of Computer Aided Engineering tools. These tools are required to manage the complexities ranging from the integrated circuit level, through the circuit pack level, to the levels of shelves and frames of equipment. They are used at the very onset of the design process, starting with initial design intent capture, through fabrication of prototypes and models, and culminating in information transfer and manufacture. To meet these needs within a common design environment, a CAE system is required which possesses considerable technical depth, great flexibility, and the capacity to evolve to meet changing needs. The Unified CAD System is a comprehensive and integrated system of CAE tools used at AT&T for the design, development, and manufacture of electronic circuit packs and backplanes. This system was conceived and developed at AT&T Bell Laboratories and is now in heavy use by AT&T product development and manufacturing organizations. When used in its complete form, the system provides a totally data driven process from design capture to manufactured product. This is achieved with a minimum of manual intervention and with the availability of audits to verify the integrity of data at each step along the way. This paper addresses the users view of the system. At AT&T, the users consist of design engineers, specialists in physical design realization, documentation, and information transmittal, and manufacturing engineers. This paper presents a description of how the system is used today, its performance in these environments, and a users view of future directions. We find that the Unified CAD System improves quality, reduces costs, reduces intervals, and improves human interfaces. Use of the system has resulted in fewer design iterations, reduced design activity, and elimination of duplication of effort. The system has had a profound- effect in bringing designs into manufacture, and the users are anxious to extend its benefits into even more aspects of the product development and manufacturing process.