Collaborative design method on network

Collaborative product development based on network is an important research area in computer supporting collaborative work. This paper sets forth the idea that the collaborative product development mode on Internet is a process of common understanding on product data and of collaborative decision making in stages. There are several techniques, which include expanded STEP product data for common understanding, mutual operations and dynamic transfer of modules between different platforms, and the decision coordination and optimization techniques to support the process. The process of collaborative development based on network includes: establishing information models for products in different stages, providing modules by encapsulating products, accessing and transfering of remote resources, sharing collaborative design processes, optimizing product performance and making decisions on collaboration. CORBA and Java techniques are used to support the solving of the assessment, optimization and collaborative problems solving.