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Expert suggests product development approach

Special Correspondent

"Institutions should establish network with industry and research organisations"

INTERNATIONAL MEET: G. Viswanathan, VIT Chancellor, with A.K. Chakrabarti, Programme Director and Scientist `H', DRDL, Hyderabad, a conference in Vellore on Wednesday.

VELLORE: A.K. Chakrabarti, Programme Director (B05) and Scientist `H' of the Defence Research and Development Laboratory, Hyderabad, has call upon the industries involved in the manufacture of high technology equipment to adopt the product development approach to stay ahead in the market in the light of the global competition.

Inaugurating the four-day 22nd International Conference on CAD/CAM Robotics and Factories of the Future, organised by the International Society for Productivity Enhancement, at the Vellore Institute of Technology here on Wednesday, Mr.Chakrabarti urged the industries and the technical educational institutions to give priority to product development.

Institutions such as the VIT should establish a network with the industry and research organisations to set up centres of excellence in product development, he said.

Competitive edge

Presiding over the inaugural function, VIT Chancellor G. Viswanathan said integration would play an important role in the future of CAD (Compute-Aided Design)/CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacture) products. No longer could companies safely relegate factory design to a traditional passive role in manufacturing strategy.

Process and environmental technologies were converging, requiring the management to rethink every element, starting with the factory buildings themselves. "Properly designed, the factory building can add a competitive edge by leveraging ... the latest process concepts," he said.

Sanjay G. Dhande, Director, IIT, Kanpur, said the first generation of CAD/CAM was more or less over, and "we are in a position to ponder over the future of CAD/CAM.

While previously, the interface between man and machine was direct, today, we are controlling information, which in turn controls the machines. This can be called engineering informatics." "Soon, we will have mobile CAD and mobile computing, for which both hardware and software support will be required. The engineering students of the future would be using e-boards instead of `T' boards. CAD/CAM will have innovative applications in ... footwear design and manufacture, saddlery, embroidery and food processing," he said.

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