Data modelling with IDEF1x

The idea of integrating business, product development, and manufacturing activities has gained momentum in manufacturing industry. To remain competitive, companies must optimize the utilization of their resources. This integration of various functional areas, e.g. computer-aided design, computer-aided process planning, computer-aided production planning and control, computer-aided quality control, and computer-aided manufacturing requires a large volume of data to be stored by the users contributing to those areas. IDEF1x provides a formal framework for consistent modelling of the data necessary for this integration. This paper provides insights into the IDEF1x modelling technique. The paper concludes with a discussion of several relevant research issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]; Copyright of International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)