An original approach for the memorisation and the generation of rapid product development processes

This paper introduces a knowledge‐based environment dedicated to the choice of rapid product development processes. Rapid product development processes are not limited to layer‐manufacturing machines, but they also integrate CAD, reverse engineering, indirect methods for metallic and plastic part manufacturing, etc. The aim of the proposed knowledge‐based environment is to propose, from a detailed functional specification, different alternatives of rapid product development processes, which can be ordered and optimised when considering a combination of different specification criteria (cost, quality, delay, aspect, material, etc.).