Computer-aided production engineering

Computer-aided production engineering (CAPE) is a relatively new and significant branch of engineering. Global manufacturing has changed the environment in which goods are produced. Meanwhile, the rapid development of electronics and communication technologies has required design and manufacturing to keep pace.

CAPE is seen as a new type of computer-aided engineering environment which will improve the productivity of manufacturing/industrial engineers. This environment would be used by engineers to design and implement future manufacturing systems and subsystems. Work is currently underway at the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on CAPE systems. The NIST project is aimed at advancing the development of software environments and tools for the design and engineering of manufacturing systems.

The future of manufacturing will be determined by the efficiency with which it can incorporate new technologies. The current process in engineering manufacturing systems is often ad hoc, with computerized tools being used on a limited basis. Given the costs and resources involved in the construction and operation of manufacturing systems, the engineering process must be made more efficient. New computing environments for engineering manufacturing systems could help achieve that objective.

Why is CAPE important? In much the same way that product designers need computer-aided design systems, manufacturing and industrial engineers need sophisticated computing capabilities to solve complex problems and manage the vast data associated with the design of a manufacturing system.

In order to solve these complex problems and manage design data, computerized tools must be used in the application of scientific and engineering methods to the problem of the design and implementation of manufacturing systems. Engineers must address the entire factory as a system and the interactions of that system with its surrounding environment. Components of a factory system include:

CAPE must not only be concerned with the initial design and engineering of the factory, it must also address enhancements over time. CAPE should support standard engineering methods and problem-solving techniques, automate mundane tasks, and provide reference data to support the decision-making process.

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