Meeting the customer requirements has always been the driving principle in product development. Now, more than ever, customers are demanding individually tailored options. Manufacturers that satisfy these demands of customization quickly and at the appropriate price will remain globally competitive. This poses a serious challenge however. In current industry practice, a rise in product customization requests means increased product complexity, variety, inventory costs, additional outsourcing, and information overload. Industry survey has shown that '20% of the parts initially thought to require new designs actually need them; 40% could be built from an existing design and 40% could be created by modifying an existing design.' In addition specialization in functions leads to designed parts and systems that undergo much iteration with suppliers resulting in higher lead times and costs. Because design knowledge and context are intimately related to the 3D geometry, a significant amount of knowledge generated during design and manufacturing is associated with the 3D model. Text-based search is inadequate for supporting the new requirements imposed on the entire product life cycle