A Decision-Making Methodology for Basic Layout Design of Machine Tools.

Abstract

In the design procedure, designers always analyse and consider various requirements and also conduct necessary information processing so as to obtain the most suitable result. In order to rationally automatise such a design procedure, it is necessary to process the design and its related information effectively by a computer system, especially from the aspect of decision making while processing the information. Thus, in this paper, a decision-making methodology for the basic layout design of machine tools has been proposed to establish an intelligent CAD system. The proposed methodology is based on the priority rule of the input specification, and its validity has also been verified through some case studies on the selection of the suitable bearing type and arrangement of the main spindle in machine tools by the usage of a developed system for supporting decision making.