Computer-aided process planning in virtual one-of-a-kind production

This paper reports a framework for computer-aided process planning (CAPP) i n virtual One-of-a-Kind Production (OKP). The emphasis will be placed on th e particular problems of developing a CAPP system in virtual OKP company. A virtual manufacturing company or a manufacturing network normally consists of geographically dispersed master company's branches, sub-contractors, jo int ventures, and partners. In this paper, we will address issues raised fr om highly customised products, the concurrent approach of product developme nt and production through a manufacturing network, incomplete product and p roduction data in OKP, the need for quickly capturing marketing opportuniti es and early response to the customer's demands, continuous customer influe nce upon production, the optimal selection of partners, and partner synthes is in virtual manufacturing. The CAPP framework proposed in this paper incl udes a reference architecture for structuring a CAPP system in virtual OKP, a new CAPP method which is named the 'incremental process planning (IPP)', and an optimal/rational cost analysis model, it also includes three data m odels for data modelling and structuring of the product, the process, and m anufacturing plants used in virtual OKP. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.