A knowledge-centric CNC machine tool design and development process management framework

Abstract

To cope with the increasingly competitive and demanding markets, CNC machine tool company needs a new form of development that focuses on two core competency factors: ‘process’ and ‘knowledge’. This study presents a knowledge-centric process management framework for the CNC machine tool design and development (D&D) with the integration of process and knowledge. Requirements for the framework are generated based primarily on the nature of the machine tool design practice. The proposed framework consists of process integration model, process simulation, process execution and knowledge objects management modules. Each of these modules is elaborated to support the knowledge-centric machine tool development process management. Finally, the prototype development is presented. Results of this study facilitate the knowledge integration in CNC machine tool D&D, and thus increase machine tool development capability, reduce development cycle time and cost, and ultimately speed up the effectiveness and ensure the excellent machine tool development.