The Center for Automation and Intelligent Systems Research, Case Western Reserve University

The Center for Automation and Intelligent Systems monocrystal turbine blades for jet engines that are made Research at Case Western Reserve University, founded by investment casting. Essentially, the part is made by in 1984, provides the setting and the administrative and pouring liquid metal into a ceramic mold, but the environment funding mechanisms for coordinating and focusing the capabilities in which this is done must be tightly controlled. of faculty members and students from many There are several other subprocesses that are also tightly disciplines and departments to deal with significant realworld controlled, such as making the mold. The total process is too complex for a single expert The center serves as an interface between separate system; rather, several different expert systems are needed basic research efforts in the various disciplines and academic and should be coordinated in some way, perhaps by a more departments and the multidisciplinary group efforts global expert system. Currently, we are constructing an needed to deal effectively with nontrivial real problems. Wax patterns appear to be essential for the factory of the future.