Validating CSCW strategies and applications for rapid product development in investment casting process

The aim of this study is to apply and validate a general-purpose working methodology, derived from the analysis of processes which come from two different domains ( the field of medicine and the preservation of cultural heritage), in the investment casting process. CSCW methods and tools have proven to be the best 'gluing tool' to bond the different activities, and thus heavily exploited during the customization of the general-purpose working methodology. This paper describes a case study performed in an industrial sector and related to the investment casting application field. It was chosen to test methodology and to demonstrate its wide applicability. The case study involved the realization of a centrifugal pump impeller, where the application of this CSCW-based methodology has delivered important results such as the reduction of product development time and the drastic reduction of production costs. RI Motyl, Barbara/B-1193-2010; Filippi, Stefano/A-6118-2009