It will also allow controlled remote access for the dissemination and exchange of casting know-how as intellectual property. The advantages of a uniform casting design system, capable of containing detailed information on the design process for products, devolve from its to realise casting know-how as a valuable asset. The knowledge of how to cast a product soundly within tight cost constraints is the result of a huge investment on the part of industries, universities and government over a long time period. Although the value of design knowledge is widely recognised throughout the industry, the management of design knowledge is often ad hoc in some respects. Design histories are often lost, or relegated to paper files which are difficult to search.
Design engineers retire, or move away leaving inadequate design records.
Information is not traded between companies, so that a new supplier must start from scratch without benefiting from previous designs, and foundries are not able to trade design knowledge which is no longer of any value to them. The system will be relevant to both the foundry industry as suppliers of quality castings, and to their customers who are increasingly becoming interested in the technical know-how associated with the whole life cycle of products. It will also provide enabling technology for education and training in design principles within the foundry industry by allowing internet browsing of selected design examples. From the foundry viewpoint, the system will provide an automated design record system containing company based design knowledge, capable of integration with local production information systems. It will also allow access to external sources of design information for new designs, and facilitate trade in 'know-how'.