Chapter 6: Virtual Environments for Design and Manufacture

Published

October 1, 1997

Author(s)

Kevin W. Lyons, Scott Angster, Sankar Jayaram

Abstract

The technology of computer-aided design and computer aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) has progressed significantly from the two-dimensional wireframe drafting systems of the 1970''s to the parametric and feature-based solid modelers of the 1990''s. There are two new technologies that pushing CAD/CAM into the next generation. These are virtual reality for prototyping allows designers to create digital prototypes and evaluate the products thoroughly before a physical prototype is created. This can significantly reduce the time to market and increase the competitiveness of a company. However, the tools used for virtual prototyping are so varied in their architecture it is very difficult to create a cohesive set of tools. Additionally, these tools are limited in their expendability, customization, and usability with current design software systems. This chapter describes the creation of virtual environments for design software systems. This chapter describes the creation of virtual environments for design and manufacture that addresses these needs. These systems are VEDAM (Virtual Enironment for Design and Manufacture) and VADE (Virtual Assembly Design Environment). The object-oriented architectures of the systems are described as well as the preliminary results.

Citation

Concurrent Engineering-Research and Applications

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

virtual assembly, virtual design, virtual manufacturing, virtual prototyping, virtual reality

Citation

Lyons, K. , Angster, S. and Jayaram, S. (1997), Chapter 6: Virtual Environments for Design and Manufacture, Concurrent Engineering-Research and Applications, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=821336 (Accessed October 14, 2025)