Computer Aided Process Planning, Strategy, and Models in the Aircraft Industry

Abstract

Unlike computer aided design (CAD) and computer aided manufacturing (CAM) systems which have been used in industry for a long time, computer aided process planning (CAPP) systems are yet to be transferred from research laboratories to industry. Aircraft industries are trying to improve their performance by developing CAPP software, and the present study contributes to this effort. Aircraft parts are specific mainly because of their complex geometry, which generates many accessibility problems, and their thin shells, which generate machining deformation and vibration problems. New CAPP approaches have been specified and developed for aircraft structural parts. Machining features are defined as machining faces. The part is split up into a set of machining faces with accessibility, adjacency, and rigidity properties. New set-up strategies are defined. These highlight three particular features in the machining of such parts: the categorization, which is a strict guide as to how the part should be machined; the best-fit blank orientation relative to the part; and the potential machining directions of the part which are the main elements for decision making.