Knowledge Based Engineering gets affordable

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Dec 14, 2001

Knowledge Based Engineering (KBE) is a technique which provides a way to capture rules and knowledge so that they can then be re-used allowing a computer to design variants

Knowledge Based Engineering (KBE) is a technique used in product design that provides a way to capture rules and knowledge, so that the rules and knowledge can then be re-used allowing the computer to design variants on the product.

DriveWorks is new technology that makes KBE available to the mid-market.

It has been developed by KB4 Ltd as generic software, using standard tools such as Microsoft Office and SolidWorks - which is already acknowledged by the design engineering community as having set the standard in affordable, easy to use mechanical design software.

Because DriveWorks has been developed using these standard tools, it does not need the programming languages of bespoke high-end systems.

Nor does it demand the high customisation and implementation costs of such systems.

DriveWorks allows engineering knowledge to be shared, distributed and managed and even enables non-technical members of the company such as those responding to tenders and quotations, to very quickly develop variants of the company's product range, whilst maintaining all the engineering control rules.

DriveWorks produces all of the product definition and manufacturing information automatically.

Engineers can devolve repetitive tasks to non-technical staff or to the computer to process and then get on with other more interesting and demanding tasks for which they were originally trained.

DriveWorks integrates with existing applications rather than replacing them.

Interfaces included with the standard product include calculation spreadsheets and Bills of Materials.

It uses familiar tools like Microsoft Excel, which all engineering companies have.

The data-capture module makes sure that capturing design variables and rules is as easy as using SolidWorks.

This ease of use and integration means that even the novice user can get to grips with the system very quickly.

DriveWorks is now being used to capture the knowledge required to specify, price, design and manufacture products in the UK and US.

The main benefits are: * reduced manufacturing timescales leading to significant cost reductions on existing products.

* the software frees up the engineers, enabling them to concentrate on designing new products to sell, thus helping the company to move forward.

* increased turnover by ensuring that every prospective contract is tendered for on time, no matter how big or small.

* decreased error (and the costs incurred by error) by sharing the same, up to date information, not just within the company but with suppliers and customers 'Knowledge Based Engineering' (KBE) technologies already exist and major engineering companies have proved their usefulness in practice.

Until now they have required expensive software and hardware, so their availability has been limited to large companies with extensive resources.

The need for such systems in the SME sector has been long recognised, but no affordable solution had been developed.

Until now.

Because it has been developed using standard tools, DriveWorks does not need extensive programming or customisation.

The costs of ownership and implementation are therefore significantly lower for DriveWorks than for high-end systems offering design automation and KBE.

DriveWorks therefore makes the benefits of KBE available to the mid-range market.

At just ?4000 for an administrator licence DriveWorks is affordable, easy to use and easy to implement.

Like SolidWorks, (upon which DriveWorks depends), DriveWorks is bringing KBE to every specifier's desktop.