Abstract
Computer usage in the ceramic tableware industry has largely been confined to word processing, spreadsheets, database, payroll, inventory and statistical process control. Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) is slowly gaining ground in this industry. The relatively high speed of generating physical designs from conceptualisation using CAD/CAM and Rapid Prototyping have suggested their use for the decoration of ceramic tableware. A CAD/CAM system, or more specifically, Computer Aided Decoration Of Ceramic Tableware (CADOCT), is developed for the design and manufacture of patterns to be decorated on ceramic tableware. Numerous industrial case studies featuring ceramic tableware prototypes are carried out and presented to illustrate the various advantages of using the prototype CADOCT system. These advantages include significant time and cost savings. It also avoids the heavy reliance on traditional practices, and the experience and skills of craftsmen. The major contribution of the research is an innovative approach from art to part, or from conceptualisation to realization, for the decoration of ceramic tableware. In Part I, a study of the problems and the proposed prototype system are described, as well as the solutions of 3-D decoration. In Part II, the application of rapid tooling is described.