Abstract: A product management system comprises a model and a data manager. The model includes design data for a product structure for a product. The model comprises a primary hierarchical organization of master objects, a number of secondary hierarchical organizations of version objects, and a change context organization for each of the master objects. The master objects include element objects and occurrence objects. A secondary hierarchical organization includes element version objects and occurrence version objects. The change context organization includes a group of variant objects and a group of branch instance objects. A branch instance object in the group of branch instance objects tracks a sequence of version objects for a corresponding design branch. The data manager manages changes to the design data for the product structure within each design branch independently of other design branches using the model, enabling manufacturing of the product with increased efficiency using the model.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and articles of manufacture consistent with the present invention allow a user operating on a data processing computer to view geometry of an object model produced by an image generator hosted on an image processing computer by allowing the user to define a zone associated with the object model, slices of each zone, and viewpoints associated with the slices, controlling the graphics image generator to produce geometric images of the object model in accordance with the zone, slices, and viewpoints, and selectively navigating the images in accordance with the zone, slices, and viewpoints.