Shaping the process of fluid power system design applying an expert system

Based on an industrial survey with experts, this paper discusses relevant a spects regarding the way in which fluid power systems are designed. The pap er briefly describes a computational support tool, developed as a prototype , to improve the design process in this area. The description includes issu es of knowledge representation. domain selection, the expert system design process and validation, it also presents a development time frame and indus trial potential related to the system. The paper suggests ways of applying such system in order to provide a training facility for new engineers and a n empowering tool for experiencing designers, to integrate different knowle dge sources in a computational environment, and to apply Internet technolog ies to facilitate communications among design agents.