Tool allocation and machining conditions optimization for CNC machines

In the literature, there exist many variations of machining economics problem in terms of modelling approaches and solution methodologies. However most of the existing studies focus on the single machining operation which is seldom in practice. On the other hand, tool management approaches at the system level fail to relate the tooling issues to the machining conditions, and ignore the tool availability and tool wear restrictions. A new solution methodology is developed to determine the optimum machining conditions and tool allocation simultaneously to minimise the production cost of a multiple operation case where there can be alternative tools for each operation. As a result, we can both improve the solution by exploiting the interaction between these two decisions, and also prevent any infeasibility that might occur for the tool allocation problem due to tool contention among the operations for a limited number of tool types by considering the tool availability and tool life limitations.