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ComputerAided_Design_Engineering_amp_Manufactur.pdf

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typically can only direct a tool to move along linear and circular paths. However, geometric profiles of<br />

CAD-generated parts are usually defined by third- or higher-order curves and surfaces. Hence, it is<br />

necessary to fit lines and circular arcs, or their combination, to these CAD-defined curves to produce<br />

the CNC tool paths to some desired tolerance. To check and verify that the complex surfaces are generated<br />

to the desired accuracy, computer-controlled coordinate measurement machines (CMMs) are used. A<br />

logical approach is to use the same CAD-represented part to generate the NC program for the measurement<br />

of the part by the CMM. Setup, processing and data analysis requirements are quite different from<br />

those for machining operations. These are discussed in the last section.<br />

2.2 Automation of Process Planning for Computer-Generated<br />

NC Programs<br />

Process planning provides the necessary link between design and manufacture. Various computerautomated<br />

or computer-aided process planning (CAPP) systems have been developed and reported. 4–7<br />

The recent trend is towards integrating CAPP with CAD and production planning and control activities. 6–7<br />

Some systems aim to cater to the processing of a large variety of parts. Others are product- or geometryspecific,<br />

catering to a few specific families of parts, such as rotational parts. The applications of CAPP<br />

systems in industrial environment are somewhat limited and their full potentials have yet to be realized. 7<br />

In general, a fully automated (generative) process planning system performs satisfactorily for well-defined<br />

families of parts with established process plans. 5 Even for a family of parts with pre-determined sequence<br />

of operations and finite variation in geometry, much development effort is still required to ensure that<br />

all possible permutations and combinations are considered and an efficient plan generated. The following<br />

two sections present CAPP for part families of more specific geometry where the parts are processed by<br />

machining and all processing requirements are completed on a single CNC machine:<br />

• CAPP for NC turning8,9<br />

• CAPP for NC milling of spherical parts: space frame nodes10<br />

The outputs obtained from a CAPP system are used for job scheduling, NC programming and other<br />

manufacturing tasks. Prior to the generation of the NC programs, it is necessary to decide on the machining<br />

operations, select the cutting tools, and determine the cutter paths and cutting conditions. For a given machine<br />

tool, the activities involved in a typical machining operation planning include the following steps:<br />

• Interpretation of part geometry or feature extraction<br />

• Determination of cutting operations and boundaries<br />

• Selection of setups and cl<strong>amp</strong>ings<br />

• Selection of tool types<br />

• Determination of cut distribution and cut paths<br />

• Determination of cutting parameters<br />

• Determination of operation sequence and routing<br />

CAPP for Turning<br />

One approach to automating the decision making is to apply artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, such<br />

as expert system techniques. Using expert system techniques to provide a machining knowledge-based<br />

model, an integrated machining system (IMS) has been developed for the manufacture of rotational<br />

parts. 9 It aims to integrate and automate the feature extraction, operation planning, machinability data<br />

selection and NC program generation.<br />

The architecture of this system is illustrated in Figure 2.2. This PC-based system comprises a user<br />

interface for interaction, a feature recognizer, a knowledge base of facts and rules. A software tool called<br />

GOLDWORKS (III) with COMMON LISP as the programming platform is employed in the knowledge<br />

building. With this frame-based knowledge building tool, the information being manipulated is repre-<br />

© 2001 by CRC Press LLC

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