摘要：Recognizing the drawbacks of stand-alone computer-aided tools in engineering, several hybrid systems are suggested with varying degree of success. In transforming the design concept to a finished product, in particular, smooth interfacing of the design data is crucial to reduce product cost and time to market. Having a product model that contains the complete product description and computer-aided tools that can understand each other are the primary requirements to achieve the interfacing goal. This article discusses the development methodology of hybrid engineering software systems with particular focus on application of soft computing tools such as genetic algorithms and neural networks. Forms of hybridization options are discussed and the applications are elaborated using two case studies. The forefront aims to develop hybrid systems that combine the strong side of each tool, such as, the learning, pattern recognition and classification power of neural networks with the powerful capacity of genetic algorithms in global search and optimization. While most optimization tasks need a certain form of model, there are many processes in the mechanical engineering field that are difficult to model using conventional modeling techniques. The proposed hybrid system solves such difficult-to-model processes and contributes to the effort of smooth interfacing design data to other downstream processes.