A
system is provided for part ordering, design, and manufacturing. A manufacturer computer
system is provided which comprises a parametric design mechanism to specify geometries of the part with parameters, an intelligent geometry portion, a 3D
solid modeling function, and one or more
simulation components. The intelligent geometry portion determines
machining cycles to manufacture the part. Part-related databases are provided, and
order processing components are provided. Such part-related databases and
order processing components may form part of one or both of an ERP and PLM computer
system. An
order processing template is provided to facilitate sales and order
processing, tool planning, CA parametric modeling,
computer simulation, and the generation of a factory
machine program. The order
processing template comprises financial and
manufacturing engineering planning fields and technical fields. An order template interface, or a set of order template interfaces, is provided. This interface or set of interfaces provides, for a given ordered part, from the order template, CA-specific information to the manufacturer computer system before the manufacturer computer system performs any CAD modeling or CAE calculation of the part. The interface or set of interfaces further provides, for the given ordered part, from the order template, ERP-specific information to the ERP system before the ERP system performs any scheduling of machines and resources, material reservation, or RFQ calculations.