Résumé: Constraint-based CAD systems are useful for handling design applications in which the precise rules are not known beforehand. The designer can introduce new constraints as these become apparent as the design task proceeds. A variety of ways for resolving constraints currently exist. This paper considers the use of a direct search optimisation approach. It is shown that this has the advantage of being able to handle a variety of different applications and that problems of under- or over-constrained systems no longer exist. A software system using this approach is introduced and its application to a number of areas is illustrated, including typical problems from computer-aided sketching, assembling modelling and mechanism simulation.

Langue: Anglais