INITIATIVES TOWARD CONCURRENT ENGINEERING MUST INCLUDE MANY DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS IN DESIGN, ENGINEERING, MANUFACTURING, AND FIELD SUPPORT OPERATING AS A VIRTUAL TEAM. THERE ARE SEVERAL TECHNICAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL IMPEDIMENTS TO BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR COOPERATION IN INITIAL CONCEPT DESIGN, GEOMETRIC DESIGN, PARAMETRIC DESIGN, MECHANICAL ANALYSIS, AND ASSEMBLABILITY ANALYSIS. THIS PAPER DESCRIBES AN APPROACH FOR THE CAPTURE, MANAGEMENT, AND APPLICATION OF THE DESIGN KNOWLEDGE THAT CAN ASSIST IN OVERCOMING MANY OF THESE IMPEDIMENTS. A THREE- LEVEL ARCHITECTURE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SCHEME IS PRESENTED.