A solution for knowledge resources provider over the Internet

Product development is complicated systematic engineering. The development of a successful product is achieved through cooperation between various design teams and utilisation of a number of design resources that exist in various disciplines, organisations and locations. As product complexity increases, product designers are required to collaborate with others to develop high-quality products. In this process, an effective solution is required from a knowledge resources provider for them to be able to acquire and share knowledge resources in various teams, locations, and domains. Based on the Internet, a solution for a knowledge resources provider, called a web-based product development support system (WPDSS), is proposed in this paper. The structure and implementation of the WPDSS system are both discussed in detail. Issues concerning development of the WPDSS system such as system structure, knowledge representation, and knowledge searches are investigated. Based on design of a rotor-bearing system of turbine machinery, a prototype of the WPDSS is developed to validate the feasibility of the proposed solution.