A solution to integrate computer-aided design (CAD) and virtual reality (VR) databases in design and manufacturing processes

The use of virtual reality (VR) techniques in industry is subject to very high expectations, as VR has emerged as a popular technology for computer-human interfaces in order to master the shortcomings of CAD systems. 3D CAD models provide a natural way of sharing design information among participants in the production process. VRML is a tool specifically designed for creating 3D virtual worlds on the Web, where these synthetic worlds can give us the ability to visualise objects and navigate the virtual world. This paper describes a system for VRML model visualisation that enables changes in the configuration file, which is written in XML, and that automatically reviews the model including the functional behaviour. From the evaluated VRML model, the connection to a PDM system is provided with a list of elements and their material properties.