COLLABORATIVE SYSTEMS

Six years ago I embarked on a new research project codenamed VMM to produce the next generation of XMD. This time, the rules of mold design would be kept outside the source code. But more than this, we designed the system to be totally extensible. The system would allow companies to enter their standards books, their catalogs, their custom components, even their special unique-to-them design patterns, along with particular requirements of a mold data file. This system could generate mold bases to meet all the above requirements to the extent that was feasible. It would allow you to edit the design, and it would update other parts automatically. It would tell you if some changes you made to the design violated certain standards. And it could produce reports of what you needed. In short, VMM collaborated with the designer and the customers. The resulting mold would be created in accordance with everyone's expectations, in record time because of this collaboration.