CAD/CAM Robotics and Factories of the Future

The total integration of the process of designing, manufacturing, and supporting a product from the earliest conceptual phase to the time it is removed from service remains an unfulfilled dream. Yet, when we look at the enormity of the process of integration even for the most simply conceived and manufactured items, we can recognize that substantial progress has been and is being made. It is our nature to be dissatisfied with near term progress, but when we realize how short a time the tools to do that integration have been available, the progress is clearly noteworthy - considering the multitudes of subjects we have to deal with. Most of the integration problems we confront today are multidisciplinary in nature. They require not only the knowledge and experience in a variety of fields but also good cooperation from different disciplined organizations to adequately comprehend and solve such problems. In Volume I we have many examples that reflect the current state of the art in integration of engineer ing and production processes. The papers for Volume I have been arranged in a more or less logical order of conceptual. design, computer-based modeling, analysis, production, and manufacturing. Chapter I is devoted to those with a design and geometrie modeling emphasis; Chapter II is devoted to an engineering analysis emphasis; and Chapter III to a production/manufacturing emphasis.