| Summary: | The importance of integrating design and manufacturing becomes apparent when
the increase in the degree of difficulty of change is observed as the product
development proceeds from concept to production in a serial engineering process.
The greatest opportunity in design for manufacture occurs at the initial design stage
before any commitments to tooling and equipment have been made.
This research develops a framework and an implementation system dealing with
integration of design, manufacturing and economic aspects in the development of a
product. The objective is to evaluate process technology for a specified product
design and to identify the best work/tool material combination and production
conditions to optimize the production process. A commercial CAD/CAM package
(SmartCAM) playing roles as a part design tool, a processing time simulator, and a
NC code generator is integrated with a manufacturing database, and a machining cost
model. This integrated system runs in Microsoft Windows environment under an
external program which not only coordinates the activities of various modules but also
enhances the capabilities of SmartCAM. This system allows product design
evaluation for economic and technical criteria and recommends best manufacturing
environment. An NC program containing recommended machining parameters is
generated. Furthermore, the system reports on tool wear on each tool per part
manufactured. This information is useful for cost analysis as well as for producing a
tool replacement schedule. === Graduation date: 1995
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