CIM: It All Starts with Product Definition

The logical starting place for computer-integrated manufacturing CIM is at the front end of the production process-product definition. It consists of the partassembly drawings, material lists, specifications, and procedures. Product definition starts at the design agencies two nuclear design laboratories Los Alamos National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and a non-nuclear design laboratory Sandia National Laboratories with two site locations. These laboratories perform the basic part design which is then transferred over a secure communications network to the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, where weapon components are produced by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., under contract with the Department of Energy DOE. Initial Graphics Exchange Specifications IGES and DOE Data Exchange Format DOEDEF translation software is used to transfer part designs between dissimilar graphics systems. Product-definition data flow is examined both external and internal to the Y-12 Plant. Software developed specifically to computerize product definition is covered as follows.