TABLE OF CONTENTS Pascal Laureillard and Dominique Vinck
This chapter concerns the role of the many graphical representations that punctuate a machine part design project. It pays special attention to the various forms of inter-professional cooperation (design, forging, machining) that develop around these graphic objects. It shows that graphical representations are closely connected with design organization, and that they are both the product and the ingredients of this activity. These graphic objects reflect the intentions, methods, and constraints of those who designed them. Therefore, they provide a good introduction to the project and its progress. Finally, the chapter shows that interprofessional cooperation is built on, among other things, the redesign of a certain number of these graphic objects. It is suggested that some of them be called cooperative agents.
After a hiatus of more than a year, design work on the X01 axle is getting underway again within the company. The project managers had previously stopped the work, with the view of implementing a do or buy approach. In other words, several suppliers were consulted and brought into competition with the company s own design and manufacturing procedures.
Two schools of thought exist within the company. One holds that the future lies in the development of a subcontracting policy, through the purchase of the majority of vehicle components. This implies that the company would drop its in-house manufacturing activities and become an assembler. The second school of thought encourages development or preservation...
