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Multi-User Computer-Aided Design and Engineering Software Applications

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Cloud-Based Design and Manufacturing (CBDM)

Abstract

This chapter will introduce multi-user computer-aided engineering applications as a new paradigm for product development, considering past collaborative research and the emerging wave of cloud-based social and gaming tools. In a historical context, computer-aided design and engineering models have become much more complex since their inception in the middle of the twentieth century. However, the way design teams approach these models has, at least in one sense, not changed much; a given model can still only be accessed by one user at a time, despite the fact that the entire design team needs to evolve the model. Single user applications have become a productivity bottleneck and do not provide interfaces or architectures for simultaneous editing of models by a collaborative team. Single user applications convert any hope for process concurrency into a serial sequence of design activities. When the single user designer experiences difficulties, the process halts until the designer can reach out to other experts to resolve the problems, which usually requires some form of external collaboration. Unfortunately, single user applications are deficient when it comes to complex and globalized product development. The chapter herein will consider how multi-user architectures will change the single user paradigm from serial to simultaneously collaborative, promote new on-demand access methods like cloud serving, and bring long hoped for efficiencies to product development. We will investigate three research areas of importance to this emerging paradigm: (1) multi-user CAx architectures, including cloud serving; (2) multi-user CAx requirements; and (3) multi-user CAx standards. Of these three, architectures are most investigated, with numerous proof-of-concept prototypes, while requirements and standards, the least investigated, partially explain the reason for non-adoption and non-commercialization of this powerful new paradigm.

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Acknowledgments

The National Science Foundation, the Center for e-Design, and BYU’s industrial members and research students are acknowledged for their funding and conducting of this research and Center Site. Most importantly, our member companies, by providing access to facilities and personnel, have helped us assess their current collaborative environments and the potential for multi-user CAx improvements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA

    Edward Red, David French, Ammon Hepworth, Greg Jensen & Brett Stone

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  1. Edward Red
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  2. David French
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  3. Ammon Hepworth
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  4. Greg Jensen
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  5. Brett Stone
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Correspondence to Edward Red .

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  1. George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Dirk Schaefer

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Red, E., French, D., Hepworth, A., Jensen, G., Stone, B. (2014). Multi-User Computer-Aided Design and Engineering Software Applications. In: Schaefer, D. (eds) Cloud-Based Design and Manufacturing (CBDM). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07398-9_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07398-9_2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-07397-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-07398-9

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