Concurrent Engineering - Contemporary issues and modern design tools

In the area of computer-integrated manufacturing, concurrent engineering is recognized as the manufacturing philosophy for the next decade. The mission of concurrent engineering (CE) is to develop competitive, high quality products and bring them to the global market place at a lower price and in a significantly reduced lead-time. However, practising the CE philosophy requires an ever-increasing number of design tools during the design phase. This book addresses the various issues associated with concurrent engineering, including proven tools for making CE a reality. It should serve as a reference for all those concerned with concurrent engineering both in industry and academia. This book should be of interest to research and development engineers in design, manufacturing and quality; graduate students, educators and researchers in industrial engineering; and practising industrial/manufacturing engineers.