The heart of integration: A sound data base: Establishing a computer-accessible set of facts about design and manufacturing is a major undertaking with potentially great rewards

Computer-aided design and manufacturing almost without exception reduces costs. But CAD/CAM is even more cost-effective if computerization is taken one step further - to integration of the design and manufacturing processes through a well-structured data base. After all, the entire manufacturing industry is heavily dependent on data communication, starting with the preliminary design of a product and continuing through production design, manufacturing, and sales. Instead of recreating and reinterpreting the data at each stage of the process, a manufacturer can avoid duplication by organizing and storing in a computer such information as the geometry and dimensions of parts, parts numbers, parts lists, manufacturing resources, assembly procedures, scheduling, inventory, and inspection results [Fig. 1].