Digital Products

In addition to the classical needs, competition on the global market requires from industry product innovations: quality, time to market, reduction of costs (Q,T,C). The modern process networks of product development and manufacturing passing the borders of countries and including several companies could not work without an extensive use of information technology. This is going far beyond the former idea of Computer Aided Design. Thus the 3'd Workshop on Current CAx-Problems did not focus on functionalities or methods aiding design like in the first two workshops but on "e;Digital Products - Living Data is the Future"e;: problems of the virtual simulation of the entire industrial process, starting with the development of a product and covering the complete life cycle. The workshop aimed at bringing together the three groups: industry (mainly automotive manufacturers), system suppliers, and fundamental research. During the workshop, communication between these three groups had to be intensified, and especially also among competing companies of the same branch to pave the way for concerted actions, which are essential for all in the future.