A knowledge-based process planning system for machine shops

This paper highlights the process planning activity as an important pre-production activity in the manufacturing industry, especially in the context of Malaysian manufacturing industry. Approaches in the implementation of the activity as well as issues in their development are discussed. The emphasis is on the knowledgebased process planning system for machining of parts. A prototype system for planning of turned parts called TURN PLANNER is described. The system was developed in SIRIM using the Turbo Prolog language and runs on a microcomputer. Expert knowledge on the machining process is stored in a knowledge base in the form of rules and using the part description method and databases, the system is capable of generating a useful process plan data for machining of the parts. An example of the results generated by the system is given and it is shown that the system can be used by shopfloor personnel to plan the job at faster rate with more accurate machining data. The data provided by the system eliminates the need to continuously refer to other people, handbooks and notes for obtaining various data prior to machining work.