Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain of manufacturing design and production. The design process is inherently a knowledge-intensive activity, so a great deal of the emphasis for KBE is on the use of knowledge-based technology to support computer-aided design (CAD) however knowledge-based techniques (e.g. knowledge management) can be applied to the entire product lifecycle. The CAD domain has always been an early adopter of software-engineering techniques used in knowledge-based systems, such as object-orientation and rules. Knowledge-based engineering integrates these technologies with CAD and other traditional engineering software tools. Benefits of KBE include improved collaboration of the design team due to knowledge management, improved re-use of design artifacts, and automation of major parts of the product lifecycle. Overview KBE is essentially engineering on the basis of knowledge models. A knowledge model uses knowledge representation to represent the artifacts of the design process (as well as the process itself) rather than or in addition to conventional programming and database techniques. The advantages to using knowledge representation to model industrial engineering tasks and artifacts are: Improved integration. In traditional CAD and industrial systems each application often has its own slightly different model. Having a standardized knowledge model makes integration easier across different systems and applications. More re-use. A knowledge model facilitates storing and tagging design artifacts so that they can easily be found again and re-used. Also, knowledge models are themselves more re-usable by virtue of using formalism such as IS-A relations (classes and subclasses in the object-oriented paradigm). With subclassing it can be very easy to create new types of artifacts and processes by starting with an existing class and adding a new subclass that inherits all the default properties and behaviors of its parents and then can be adapted as needed. Better maintenance. Class hierarchies not only facilitate re-use they also facilitate maintenance of systems. By having one definition of a class that is shared by multiple systems, issues of change control and consistency are greatly simplified. More automation. Expert system rules can capture and automate decision making that is left to human experts with most conventional systems. KBE can have a wide scope that covers the full range of activities related to Product Lifecycle Management and Multidisciplinary design optimization. KBE's scope includes design, analysis (computer-aided engineering – CAE), manufacturing, and support. In this inclusive role, KBE has to cover a large multi-disciplinary role