Computers have been employed for some time in engineering design mainly as numerical or graphical tools to assist analysis and draughting. The advent of the technology of artificial intelligence and expert systems has enabled computers to be applied to less deterministic design tasks which require symbolic manipulation and reasoning, instead of only routine number processing. This book presents recent examples of such applications, focusing on mechanical and manufacturing design. The term 'design' is interpreted here in its wider sense to include creative activities such as planning. The book covers a wide spectrum of design operations ranging from component and product design through to process, tooling and systems design. Its aim is to expose researchers, engineers and engineering designers to several developments in the emerging field of intelligent CAD and to alert them of the possibilites and opportunities in this exciting field.
