THE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING OF TUNGSTEN CARBIDE INSERTS INVOLVES MULTIDISCIPLES, SUCH AS PRODUCT DESIGN, PROCESS ENGINEERING, AND TOOL DESIGN. THE FUNCTION OF THE EXPERT SYSTEM IS TO INTEGRATE THE KNOWLEDGE BASE OF ALL THE VARIOUS FUNCTIONS. THIS INVOLVES CONSIDERATION FOR THE MANUFACTURABILITY OF DESIGN. THE DESIGN MUST CONSIDER THE USE OF COMMON TOOLING, PROCESS LIMITATIONS, AND STANDARDIZED RULES. SINCE MANY OF THE DESIGN FEATURES ARE SIMILAR, THE SYSTEM CAN FIND EXISTING PARTS THAT ARE THE CLOSEST FIT TO THE DESIRED FEATURE. IN A FEW MINUTES, THE DESIGNER CAN DESIGN A PART, GENERATE A MODEL IN THE CAD/CAM SYSTEM, PRODUCE A PRODUCT DRAWING, PROCESS DRAWING, AND TOOLING DRAWINGS TO MANUFACTURE THE PART. THE DESIGN PROCESS, USING THE EXPERT SYSTEM, CAN NOW GENERATE A DESIGN IN MINUTES WHERE PREVIOUSLY IT WOULD TAKE DAYS AND FLOW THROUGH FOUR DEPARTMENTS AND SEVEN PEOPLE.