Introductory Chapter: Integration of Computer-Aided Technologies in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Human Lifecycle Management (HUM)

Introductory Chapter: Product Lifecycle Management - Terminology

“…CAx [4] is a generic term that includes all computer-aided technologies used to process the information and knowledge regarding the product data along the PLM stages. A CAx system is focused on a "X" task, and it contains the following main components: hardware component consisting in computer and interactive devices, software packages, data, knowledge, and human's activities [4].…”

“…CAx [4] is a generic term that includes all computer-aided technologies used to process the information and knowledge regarding the product data along the PLM stages. A CAx system is focused on a "X" task, and it contains the following main components: hardware component consisting in computer and interactive devices, software packages, data, knowledge, and human's activities [4]. The "X" task can be product design (computer-aided design) [13][14][15][16][17]; product manufacturing (computer-aided manufacturing) [13][14][15][16][17]; product simulation, Virtual enterprise (VE) Virtual enterprise consists in "a group of people who work together on a project, communicating mainly by phone, email, and the internet, rather than regularly going to a central office to work providing operations as competitive as those in a traditional enterprise" [4,21] Digital mock-up (DMU) Digital mock-up is a concept that allows the description of a product, usually in 3D, for its entire life cycle [4] Digital manufacturing (DM) DM links digital product development, digital production planning, and digital facility planning [22].…”

“…Factory of the future/ smart factory Factory of the future [4,24] is the combination of "virtual" and "real" that "can selfoptimize performance, self-adapt to and learn from new conditions in real or near-real time, and autonomously run entire production processes" [25] Industry 4.0 Industry 4.0 [26,27] supposes the introduction of the Internet of things and services into the manufacturing environment [4] Cloud computing Cloud computing store, manage, and process data, rather than a local computer by using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet [4] CMfg (cloud manufacturing)…”

“…This strategy includes the management of conception, design, design validation and simulation, prototyping, manufacturing, quality control, use, maintenance, and disposal of products, having integrated people, methods, CAx (computer-aided technologies) tools, processes, documentation, and data management solutions. PLM is a digital paradigm, products being managed with digital computers, digital information, and digital communication [4]. The main benefits of a PLM system implementation in companies are faster time to market, improved productivity and collaboration, better product quality, decreased cost of new product introduction, reduced prototyping costs, improved design review and approval processes, identify potential sale opportunities and revenue contributions, maximize supply chain collaboration, and reduce environmental impacts at the end of product life.…”