Abstract
Nowadays, companies are in the process of renewing their manufacturing lines by equipping them with modern five-axis CNC (computer numerical control) machining centers. The decision to select between different five-axis CNC machining centers, with similar technological capabilities is a difficult process, so the main goal of this work was to develop a method for assisting it. The proposed approach relies on seven technical criteria, four quantitative ones (traverse speed, thrust, spindle power, and spindle speed) which can be expressed by crisp numerical values, while the other three (flexibility, operation easiness, and setup time) are qualitative ones. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used for ordering four variants of five-axis CNC milling machining centers. The qualitative criteria were processed using fuzzy systems to be expressed by crisp numerical values, suitable for AHP. Finally, the four variants of five-axis CNC milling machining centers were hierarchized and the best one was chosen. A sensitivity analysis was also unfolded to certify the robustness of the AHP.
Highlights
Proper equipment selection highly influences the production costs and the products quality, which are paramount for customer satisfaction
In [4], a fuzzy technique based upon information axiom was used for selecting between alternative solutions for punching machines, while in [5] fuzzy techniques were used for material handling equipment selection
Some of them were equipped with proprietary computer numerical control (CNC) solutions, while other ones were equipped with solutions provided by other well-known CNC equipment developers
Summary
Proper equipment selection highly influences the production costs and the products quality, which are paramount for customer satisfaction. Selecting between different alternatives of machine-tools is a very complex process, a multiple criteria decision making one [1], considering the large number of options, with quite similar performances and prices. The prices of these systems differ less and less from one producer to another, price has become a selection criterion which has reduced utility. Selected machine-tools can affect the manufacturing system performance, by introducing a series of risks related to costs, production quality, productivity [2], market share and environmental aspects [3]. A comparison between flexible manufacturing systems using fuzzy techniques and axiomatic design was presented in [6]
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