INFORMATION MODEL LEVEL INTEGRATION FOR CIM SYSTEMS - A UNIFIED DATABASE APPROACH TO CONCURRENT ENGINEERING

In traditional manufacturing systems engineering, systems are designed around the transformation process of raw materials into-usable compon ents or materials. These systems are value added processes, such as ma terials processing, or support systems such as scheduling. In the last thirty years, information has become an important resource to manage in the manufacturing environment. Unfortunately, information is poorly managed in many manufacturing systems. Highly automated computer syst ems that are not well interfaced are often referred to as ''islands of automation.'' They increase the efficiency in their departments witho ut aiding activities outside of their areas. This lack of interfacing can often be traced to a lack of understanding of the mappings between data in the individual systems. A new methodology for expressing thes e mappings will aid designers in developing the interfaces between the se island systems.