The methodology for PDM applications: From manufacturing requirement specification to product database implementation

We present a product database modeling and implementation methodology for manufacturing information systems, called requirements-data-object-lifecycle (RDOL) methodology. The proposed RDOL methodology consists of specification phase, analysis phase and implementation phase. In specification phase, four views are used to specify manufacturing requirements. In analysis phase, we need to analysis and build a mapping relationship between manufacturing processes and all kinds of data to support all manufacturing applications such as CAD, CAPP and simulation, etc. Based on the relationship, we also need to analyze how many kinds of data or how they are derived from the four views so all identifier of all kinds of data and data attributes are captured. In implementation phase, all data can be directly transferred into a specific object database for object oriented DBMS, where each object in a product database is considered as a physical entity with the lifecycle to perform all kinds of engineering activities so that a business goal will be reached. In other words, the RDOL methodology can be highlighted: the user´s requirements-oriented specification, the data-oriented analysis, the object/lifecycle-oriented implementation. Finally, an example illustrates how the RDOL methodology is applied to the product data management project.