The reference view for semantic interoperability in Integrated Product Development Process: The conceptual structure for injecting thin walled plastic products

The ongoing sophistication in costumer's needs have increased the complexity in the Integrated Product Development Process (IPDP). This remarkable growth demands that systems offer support to many different stages of IPDP, going across early planning and practical development phases. Concurrently, the level of detail and quantity of information are exponentially growing in this applications. However, there was also an increase in the number of semantic obstacles to sharing information across systems. These semantic obstacles are mainly related to the heterogenic nature of the information, which has its captured meaning interpreted in a divergent way, increasing the project costs and development time. In this context, this article contributes to the development of the core ontologies from the Reference View, to aid the semantic interoperability in the Product Design stage, further improving the exchange of information during different phases of the IPDP. The core ontologies research is focused on supporting the development of a plastic injected product, gathering and sharing information across the domains of part and mould design, mould manufacture and materials selection. The experimental system has demonstrated the potential to aid the exchange of information and inconsistency analysis in the Integrated Product Development Process.