Integrated CAD/CAM-Systems and Organizational Latitudes on the Shop Floor — Initial Findings and Hypotheses

Integrated CAD/CAM-systems are employed to achieve computer-aided integration in all production functions, from design and planning up to manufacturing and the assurance of quality standards. So far, however, overall integration of this kind has hardly been put into practice. This applies particularly to the medium and small batch production of the machine-building industry *). At present various concepts of CAD/CAM integration which complement or overlap each other, often to the extent of operating concurrently in the case of implementation, can be discerned. On the one hand, concepts are concerned with the integration of design functions with planning, controlling and programming functions (CAD/CAP). On the other hand, they are concerned with the integration of manufacturing functions with planning, controlling and programming functions (DNC). Overall computer-aided integration, from design through to manufacturing, has only been conceived for a small number of product elements and limited manufacturing processes so far.