Resources Integration and Binding in Distributed Collaborative Design Process

Current CAD/CAE systems are not ideal for engineering design in distributed heterogeneous design resources. This paper investigates the approach and mechanism of distributed design resources integration and binding in collaborative design process based on service-oriented architecture. Service-Oriented Computing Environment (SORCER) is employed to build a highly flexible distributed network components environment-design service space. A SORCER Based Collaborative Design Environment is presented. As the key modules of the system, Design activity modeling, Design interface, design context and design process graph is introduced in detail. Design Behavior Matrices is designed as the binding mechanism to drive distributed design resources integration process during the design tasks execution time. At last, this paper introduces a engineering layout design to demonstrate the mechanism and the system. This system aims to enable asynchronous distributed collaborative design with ease of alternative design services, reduced design cycles, and improved design resolution quality.