Towards a Feature-based Conceptual Design

Due to highly informal data, which is hard to maintain, the conceptual phase of the design process still lack of computer support. Also, product data management in this phase is weak. This paper presents a proposal for a structured description of a product, applicable in the early phases of the design process, where few geometrical data exist. This description addresses functional structure of product, working principle with effects used in solution and requirements. It is intended to be used for a semantic description of a product, and for storing and retrieving product data based on their functionality.