Computer-aided process planning in virtual one-of-a-kind production

Abstract

This paper reports a framework for computer-aided process planning (CAPP) in virtual One-of-a-Kind Production (OKP). The emphasis will be placed on the particular problems of developing a CAPP system in virtual OKP company. A virtual manufacturing company or a manufacturing network normally consists of geographically dispersed master company's branches, sub-contractors, joint ventures, and partners. In this paper, we will address issues raised from highly customised products, the concurrent approach of product development and production through a manufacturing network, incomplete product and production data in OKP, the need for quickly capturing marketing opportunities and early response to the customer's demands, continuous customer influence upon production, the optimal selection of partners, and partner synthesis in virtual manufacturing. The CAPP framework proposed in this paper includes a reference architecture for structuring a CAPP system in virtual OKP, a new CAPP method which is named the `incremental process planning (IPP)', and an optimal/rational cost analysis model. It also includes three data models for data modelling and structuring of the product, the process, and manufacturing plants used in virtual OKP.