【正文】 a minimum set of parameters to be set before it is able to plete the design of the main ponents of a die, such as upper dies, lower dies, and blank holders. This minimum set of parameters includes blank sizes, die faces, punch open lines, drawing strokes , and press data. This design system implemented on top of the Pro/E CAD software consists of a drawing die knowledge base, a subponent inferencer , a dimension calculator , a subponent generator, a system coordinator, and a user interface. We use the design of drawing dies for inner wheel house as a concrete example to show that our system can greatly improve the design quality while reducing the development time and cost.Keywords Knowledgebased systems . Parametric design .Drawing dies . Computeraided systems . Stamping dies1 IntroductionPress parts are widely used in products of high plexity and precision, such as vehicles, aircraft, and 3C (puter,munication, and consumer electronic) related , the press process has been identified as one of the most important manufacturing processes. Drawing, trimming, and bending dies are used throughout the entire press process for various purposes [1]. Designing press dies s a vital step in the development of press processes .Besides the highly plex die structures, interferences among various design parameters make the design task extremely difficult. Therefore, a majority of people still believe that it is art rather than science that plays an important role when designing dies. It takes a long time to gain sufficient experience to bee an expert in this field. The highly petitive environment makes it necessary to reduce the time and money spent on designing dies while maintaining high standards for product quality. Therefore, using puteraided design (CAD) has bee one of the most important ways to increase productivity. The views in traditional 2D design systems are difficult to understand. It is very hard (if not impossible) to identify any interference. Moreover, it is difficult to create and modify drawings .These drawbacks of the traditional 2D design systems make them very timeconsuming to learn and use. 3D CAD software uses an intuitive and concrete way to present objects to users, which fundamentally avoid those aforementioned problems. Moreover, as a result of the fast development of personal puters, 3D software can be operated on most personal puters, which makes 3DCAD software increasingly popular.Most 3D CAD software offers only simple geometrical modeling function. However, they fail to provide users with sufficient design knowledge, which is of great help in most design tasks. Therefore, the design of automatic, knowledgebased, and intelligent systems has been an active research topic for a long time. Regarding the construction of dedicated system, Nahm and Ishikawa [2] utilized the setbased design approach with the parametric modeling technique to handle the uncertainties that are intrinsic at early stages of the design. Sharma and Gao [3] developed integrated design and manufacturing planning systems to support conceptual redesign and reprovisioning activities. Myung and Han [4] developed an expert system based on a configuration design method. This system allows users to design mechanical products in a 3D environment. Roh andLee [5] proposed a hull structural modeling system for ship design, which was developed using C++ and built on top of 3D CAD software. Lee et al. [6] developed a parametric puteraided tool design system for cold forging using Auto LISP. In order to make the modeling process more efficient, Kong et al. [7] developed a Windowsnative 3Dplastic injection mold design system based on Solid Works using Visual C++. Chu et al. [8] developed a puter aided parametric design system for 3D tire mold production in CATIA using CAA.In the stamping tool design area, Cheok and Nee [9] developed a knowledgebased strip layout design system in AutoCAD. Taking advantage of neuralnetwork and CAD software, Pilani et al. [10] proposed a method for automatically generating an optimal die face design based on die face formability parameters. Ismail et al. [11] developed a featurebased progressive press tool using cheap CAD software. Based on sheet metal operations, Singh and Sekhon [12] developed a punch machine selection expert system, which was built in AutoCAD and used Auto LISP. Tisza [13] developed an expert system for detail process planning of metal forming in AutoCAD. Choi et al. [14] developed a puteraided design and manufacturing system for irregularshaped sheet metal products for blanking or piercing and bending operations. Chang et al. [15] established a genetic algorithm to solve the problems of ranking the working steps in progressive dies.Though designing dies is a plex process, technologies used throughout the process are mature, which makes the whole process routine. In order to plete the design process in a scientific approach, this paper introduces a knowledgebased parametric design system for drawing dies, where designers only need to input a minimum set of design parameters, and the system will automatically plete the design of the main ponents of drawing dies.2 Stamping die design Configuration of drawing diesA design configuration of a typical drawing die consists of two categories of ponents. The first category is called “standard ponents”, which include the wear boards, gas springs, and bolts. These standard ponents are available in the market with different sizes. The second category is called the “main ponents”, which include upper dies,lower dies, and blank holders, as shown in Fig. 1. The design of these ponents totally depends on specific drawing dies and requirements from clients. This paper focuses on the design of the main ponents.Fig. 1 Structure of main ponents for a drawing die of inner wheel house Designing main ponents for drawing diesThe main ponents of most drawing dies can be very p