Recent development on product modelling: A review

Product modelling is a pivotal activity in product development (PD) processes. Well-defined product models organize product data, production information and knowledge to satisfy the requirements of the rapid changes of the PD environment. In this paper, a comprehensive review is carried out on the recent development of product modelling technology. Four types of product modelling methodologies are discussed in detail. Two object-oriented product modelling methods: STEP-based product modelling and UML-based product modelling are reviewed and compared. The research gaps and issues are identified. To implement the product modelling into current integrated manufacturing environment, a generic product modelling framework is proposed. The future research trend of product modelling is also discussed.