Multi-user architectures for computer-aided engineering collaboration

Concurrent engineering, defined as product development by teams working in parallel, is severely limited by the serial functionality of modern computer-aided applications (CAx) like CAD/CAE/CAM. Ultimately, any development project is decomposed into assemblies and components which are then sub-divided into single models. Each model is then assigned to one technical person: designer, analyst, or process planner. The function of this paper is to consider CAx architectural changes that will allow product teams to concurrently and simultaneously collaborate on product models. Several prototypes will demonstrate multi-user effectiveness, and expose collaborative and architectural deficiencies in modern CAx tools.