Collaborative product structure management for assembly modeling

The paper aims at presenting a Web-based product structure manager that enables designers to hold virtual meetings via Internet and that allows collaborative viewing, modification of product structure and annotation of the 3D model. This Web-based product structure manager provides a shared platform for the designers. Two concerns of designers of large systems are addressed in this application. First, heterogeneous application systems are used by designers and second, designers are geographically dispersed. In this context, STEP standard was found superior for data exchange among diverse CAD systems and the product structure manager has been developed as a “Web-based” application to achieve collaboration among designers. A case study has been carried out with this developed architecture for assembly modeling of a launch vehicle system called launcher hold and release system and its outcome is discussed in detail in this paper.