Co-DARFAD - the collaborative mechanical product design system

Based on a newly developed mechanical product design automation system DARFAD, the D&R (Decomposition & Reconstitution) model based collaborative design concept is proposed first, and the product development model and collaborative design process model are described. Then the framework of the DARFAD based collaborative design system, Co-DARFAD, is introduced which is characterized by truly “collaborative design” (not CSCW in design) and formal collaborative design process, lending itself to both loose-coupled and close-coupled collaborative design work in both synchronous and asynchronous modes on the Internet. Finally, the conceptual design for the mechanical product is shown as an application case