© Copyright by International OCSCO World Press. All rights reserved. 2007 VOLUME 24 ISSUE 1 September 2007 Occasional paper 219 of Achievements in Materials and Manufacturing Engineering of Achievements in Materials and Manufacturing Engineering Research activities of computer-aided materials processing laboratory Y.T. Im* co-operating with H.W. Lee, H.C. Lee, M. Awais, Y.G. Jin, K.H. Jung, K.H. Jung Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute, National Research Laboratory for Computer Aided Materials Processing, of Science and Technology, 373-1 Gusongdong, Yusonggu, Daejeon, 305-701, Korea * Corresponding author: E-mail address: ytim@kaist.ac.kr Received 07.03.2007; published in revised form 01.09.2007 Analysis and modelling AbstrAct Purpose: of this paper is to review the research works carried out at the national research laboratory for computer-aided materials processing at the department of mechanical engineering at KAIST. Design/Methodology/approach: The research papers published so far from the laboratory were carefully reviewed and highlights for developing simulation tools for mesh generation, 2D or 3D finite element analyses for forging, shape rolling, solidification, semi-solid forging, compression molding of thermoset composites, injection molding without or with short fibers, and expert system for multi-stage axi-symmetric cold forging, extrusion, and multi-pass shape rolling are recaptured. Findings: According to this survey, the important issues involved with program developments and their industrial applications were revisited. Research limitations/implications: Understanding of material behaviour at various processing conditions and characterization of proper boundary conditions in terms of friction and temperature should be carefully made. Handling of complex geometry and computational efficiency for such geometry should be improved as well. Further development of three dimensional design systems should be necessary. Practical implications: Proper usage of the simulation tools and interface such tools with the automatic design system with the help of artificial intelligence will be very useful at the design stage of new manufacturing products and processes. In addition, proper understanding of deformation mechanics is of importance to properly utilize such numerical tools. Originality/value: Various aspects of limitations involved with program developments and their usage are identified and some important industrial applications demonstrated. Keywords: Numerical techniques; Computational material science and mechanics; Plastic forming; Heat treatment 1. Introduction Recent international market demands that mechanical parts should be produced to net-shape or near net-shape with improved mechanical properties, smooth surface finish, good dimensional accuracy, material savings, and environmentally friendliness, depending on service requirements. In practice, manufacturing engineers are facing the problem of determining proper materials and design of dies and tools to transform an initial simple billet into more complex product geometries without causing any defects at a lower manufacturing cost, depending on the material, the part geometry, and the process. Since the decision made at the process and product design levels has a profound effect on the dies and tools design, manufacturing, maintenance, mechanical properties and tool life 1. Introduction