The development of an integrated and intelligent cad/ capp/ cafp environment using logic-based reasoning

Abstract

The integration of design and manufacturing poses to the researchers in the fields of cad, cam and cim a series of challenges. This paper introduces a methodology and a prototype system that allows for the integration of product design with manufacturing process planning. The task is achieved through an intelligent cad- capp- cafp environment where a designed model from the cad system can be analysed, and manufacturing process plans with specifications of machining and fixturing methods can be automatically determined. The manufacturing information of a part required for process and fixture planning is extracted from the 3D geometric model and the 2D engineering drawing, thereby both geometric and non-geometric attributes of a part can be obtained. An integrated approach to process and fixture planning is adopted to ensure that the process plan for a machined part is generated on the basis of a workable fixture plan. The overall integration is achieved through the underlying unified logical representation.