Abstract
Currently, it is possible to buy almost anything from books (Amazon.com) to airplane tickets (travelocity.com) using the world wide web. The purpose of this project is to explore the use of the web for the fabrication of mechanical prototype parts, i.e. parts that can be fabricated using standard machine tools like milling machines. The current mechanism for production of prototype parts requires a process of part description preparation, bidding, contract award, and finally fabrication and delivery of the part. This is a substantially more complex process than buying a book or an airplane ticket. In order to achieve “e-commerce” in this field it will be necessary to develop a “clean interface” between the design and fabrication of mechanical prototype parts. This requires an unambiguous description of the part along with an automated method for bidding on the job. A new system called FACILE (Fast Associative Clean Interface Language and Environment) has been proposed to meet this need.
