Product data management and sheet metal features — Sheet metal part recognition for an easier designing process producing manufacture-friendly products

PDM systems were created in the mid-1980s. The main goal was to organize the drawings and data sheets, which were created during the designing process. Integration of PDM and CAD led to a situation where an increasing number of features were required from the systems to help the designers. Finally, this situation developed to a point where no one was actually sure what contribution the PDM was making. Nowadays, sheet metals are universally used in different kind of industries. Designing is challenging in many ways, therefore, if the PDM could recognize sheet metal parts it could help the designing process. With the help of the PDM and the DFMA, the products should be more manufacture friendly and the designing time possibly shorter. This paper points out the complexity of designing sheet metals, and raises the question of whether the PDM system could be a helpful tool for designing manufacture friendly products.