Development of a process determination and sequencing technique for a manufacturing system

With the given geometrical data of a model, this paper presents a technique: (1) to prepare a workpiece with minimal material required to fabricate the model; (2) to automatically determine the necessary manufacturing processes utilizing the concept of feature-based recognition; and (3) to optimally sequence these processes based on a tabulated optimization scheme. Four types of feature, face, hole, slot, and pocket, are considered. Computational results are provided to demonstrate the capability and advantage of the technique. Conclusions are given and recommendations for future research are discussed.