An automatic process planning system for the quick generation of manufacturing process plans directly from CAD drawings

This paper describes the philosophy and design of an automatic process plan ning system (APPS) that is able to generate process plans rapidly from CAD drawings. APPS extracts the design features that are represented by a speci al code based on a new group technology (GT) classification coding scheme. An intelligent knowledge-based system is then employed to generate optimal process plans according to the code, that represents all the form features of the component. APPS reduces the normal process planning time and therefo re enhances the productivity of manufacturing operations. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.