The triennial PROLAMAT conferences focus on computer applications in manufacturing. This text comprises the proceedings of the Eleventh International PROLAMAT conference, which was sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and held in Budapest, Hungary in November 2000. This volume contains case studies, theoretical papers and project development reports on one of the greatest challenges facing the new digital enterprises: "Life Cycle Approach to Management and Production". In an increasingly environment-conscious world, manufacturing and production are seen as part of a larger picture: the product life cycle (production - use - disposal), and are looked at from three different aspects: technology, economy and ecology (environmental impact). The PROLAMAT conference focuses on technology while also embracing the other two aspects; various solutions for the different activities are presented in the papers.
Main issues discussed in the book are: CAD/CAM/CIM/CAE, reverse engineering; SCM, ERP, networking, Web-based applications; decision support systems, intelligent manufacturing; modelling and simulation; virtual and real enterprises, life-cycle approach, management; and control and robotics applications.