Knowledge Based CAx Tools for the Development of Environmentally Sound Products

Within the Collaborative Research Center 392 (SFB392) methods and tools for the development of environmentally sound products are developed at the Technical University in Darmstadt. They are based on a very detailed Life Cycle Assessment method (LCA, ? [8]) and can be used for entire products, like cars, or components, like engines or catalyzers. Existing CAD and process data can be used for the assessment using direct connections to CAD systems or data import via STEP files. The basic principle of the tools is to implement the required expert knowledge in an object oriented information model. An object oriented model is much easier to understand, adapt, extend, validate and maintain than programming source code, and is much easier to implement in computer programs than other kinds of models. This enables effective cooperative work and easy adaptation of the tools to the fast changing boundary conditions of industrial application