Supporting multiple engineering viewpoints in computer-aided design using ontology-based annotations

This paper describes an approach to supporting, in computer-aided design (CAD), the multiple evaluations that occur when engineers bring their expertise to bear, especially in the later phases of the design process. The aim of the support is to reduce the work in integrating external tools with CAD systems, and to increase the coordination between the different tools. The paper presents a general-purpose ontology-driven annotation approach to record viewpoint-dependent information such as manufacturing process and costing data. The annotation data are contained within a consistent ontology framework which supports the integration of multiple specialist viewpoints by associating annotation content with anchors in a boundary representation model. The ontology also allows checking of data structures and other reasoning. The paper gives an overview of the relevant background in CAD technologies, annotation and ontology, and then describes the embedding of an annotation tool based on the Web Ontology Language OWL in a commercial CAD system. The usefulness of the tool is evaluated through a case study of the incorporation of cost estimation tools.