MODELING MANUFACTURING PROCESS INFORMATION USING EXPRESS

A critically important aspect of concurrent engineering is to ensure t hat the most appropriate information is available, early in the design process, to support design decision making. The authors of this paper consider that future software systems can be of particular benefit to concurrent engineering by providing such information support. Two com plementary areas of information, product and manufacturing process inf ormation, have been identified as necessary to support the design proc ess. The authors have explored the representation of manufacturing pro cess information, within a Manufacturing Model, to support design deci sion making. The paper discusses issues relating to the general struct ure of manufacturing process modelling as well as examines the use of the information modelling language EXPRESS in defining the content of a manufacturing model. Work performed by the authors in building a man ufacturing model of the injection moulding process is presented, the p roblems raised in building the model are addressed, and the solutions to them are discussed. The advantages and limitations found in using t he EXPRESS language to define a manufacturing model are discussed as i s the use of activity modelling and object-oriented design techniques to complement the use of EXPRESS. In essence, the paper provides an in sight into the current capability of information modelling tools and t heir application in the area of modelling manufacturing process inform ation to provide concurrent engineering support.