Computer assisted technologies in the development of prototypes

In the industry computer assisted technologies are being implemented very fast. Most companies support the use of the new computer assisted technologies as a fully integrated digital policy. Currently, due to the high number of available alternatives in the market, the integration analysis of the computer assisted conception and production technologies is a critical study, in order to establish the potential for a full implementation of a CIM (Computer Integrated Manufacture) strategy. The technology developments in the area of computer assisted project and production of prototypes is reviewed in this paper. The text is divided in five main topics, namely: i) an introduction to the characteristics of actual markets requirements and demands of clients that lead to the need of new methods and equipments to be used by the production companies, ii) a review about the available capabilities on computer assisted conception and production technologies (computer-aided design / engineering / manufacturing and rapid prototyping); iii) an analysis about product designer standards and requirements (an example concerning the making of working drawings is used to illustrate the actual constraints in the computer assisted technologies); and iv) conclusions regarding the state of the art and future developments preview in the area.