A cooperative agent modelling approach for process planning

A well designed computer-aided process planning (CAPP) system bridges the g ap between CAD and CAM. A number of systems have recently been developed re lying on a standalone expert system. However, because of over-complexity, m any such systems cannot be effectively applied to industrial enterprises in practice. Moreover, the modern computer integrated manufacturing system (C IM) requires the CAPP system to be extendible and flexible for practical in dustrial applications. It is hardly possible to develop the extensive indus trial CAPP system by using only one large expert system. To overcome these weaknesses, a new cooperative agent model is presented for process planning in this paper that satisfies five major requirements: Autonomy, Flexibilit y, Interoperability, Modularity and Scalability. In accordance with this fr amework proposed, a machining cooperative process planning system (Machinin g CoCAPP) is specifically developed for demonstration purpose. The system m odelling, agent structure design, cooperation and coordination mechanism, a nd case study of the Machining CoCAPP are presented. (C) 2000 Elsevier Scie nce B.V. All rights reserved.