The book gives a systematic and detailed description of a new integrated product and process development approach for sheet metal manufacturing. Special attention is given to manufacturing that unites multidisciplinary competences of product design, material science, and production engineering, as well as mathematical optimization and computer based information technology. The case study of integral sheet metal structures is used by the authors to introduce the results related to the recent manufacturing technologies of linear flow splitting, bend splitting, and corresponding integrated process chains for sheet metal structures.

The 33 papers presented in this book were selected from amongst the 97 papers presented during the sixth edition of the International Conference on Integrated Design and Manufacturing in Mechanical Engineering during 28 sessions. This conference represents the state-of-the-art research in the field. Two keynote papers introduce the subject of the Conference and are followed by the different themes highlighted during the conference.

This book addresses Integrated Design Engineering (IDE), which represents a further development of Integrated Product Development (IPD) into an interdisciplinary model for both a human-centred and holistic product development. The book covers the systematic use of integrated, interdisciplinary, holistic and computer-aided strategies, methods and tools for the development of products and services, taking into account the entire product lifecycle. Being applicable to various kinds of products (manufactured, software, services, etc.), it helps readers to approach product development in a synthesised and integrated way. The book explains the basic principles of IDE and its practical application. IDE’s usefulness has been demonstrated in case studies on actual industrial projects carried out by all book authors. A neutral methodology is supplied that allows the reader to choose the appropriate working practices and performance assessment techniques to develop their product quickly and efficiently. Given its manifold topics, the book offers a valuable reference guide for students in engineering, industrial design, economics and computer science, product developers and managers in industry, as well as industrial engineers and technicians.

This volume contains the selected papers of the first I.D.M.M.E. conference on 'Integrated Design and Manufacturing in Mechanical Engineering', held in Nantes from 15-17 April 1996. Its objective was to discuss the questions related to the definition of the optimal design and manufacturing processes and to their integration through coherent methodologies in adapted environments. The initiative of the Conference and the organization thereof, is mainly due to the efforts of the french PRIMECA group (Pool of Computer Resources for Mechanics) started eight years ago. We were able to attract the internationru community with the support of the International Institution for Production Engineering Research (C.I.R.P.). The conference brought together two hundred and fifty specialists from around the world. About ninety papers and twenty posters were presented covering three main topics : optimization and evaluation of the product design process, optimization and evaluation of the manufacturing systems and methodological aspects.

The biggest challenge in any marketplace is uncertainty. The major changes taking place in world economies, politics, and demographics has raised market uncertainty to its highest level in the past 50 years. However, with new markets opening up in emerging and developing economies, the opportunities have never been better. To compete in this challe

For manufacturing enterprises to survive in the next century, they need to understand the latest concepts, business processes, and technologies in Computer-Integrated Design and Manufacturing. This one-stop reference provides up-to-date coverage of the most important topics in the field. This invaluable resource provides quantitative analysis of computer-integrated design and manufacturing systems that are useful for solving real world problems in industry. Solved examples and illustrations demonstrate each modern engineering design and manufacturing concept.

This book presents a selection of papers related to the fifth edition of book further to the International Conference on Integrated Design and Manufacturing in Mechanical Engineering. This Conference has been organized within the framework of the activities of the AIP-PRIMECA network whose main scientific field is Integrated Design applied to both Mechanical Engineering and Productics. This network isorganized along the lines of a joint project: the evolution, in the field of training of Integrated Design in Mechanics and Productics, in quite close connection with the ever changing industrial needs over the past 20 years. It is in charge of promoting both exchanges of experience and know-how capitalisation. It has a paramount mission to fulfil, be it in the field of initial and continuous education, technological transfer and knowledge dissemination through strong links with research labs. For the second time, in fact, the IDMME Conference has been held abroad and, after Canada in 2000, the United Kingdom, more particularly Bath University, has been retained under the responsibility of Professor Alan Bramley, the Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the conference. The Scientific Committee members have selected all the lectures from com mplete papers, which is the guarantee for the Conference of quite an outstanding scientific level. After that, a new selection hasbeen carried out to retain the best publications, which establish in a book, a state-of-the-art analysis as regards Integrated Design and Manufacturing in the discipline of Mechanical Engineering.