International Journal of Advanced Engineering and Technology

Authors
Morteza Sadegh Amalnik

Abstract
Computer-aided process planning (CAPP) is the use of computer technology to aid in the process planning of a part or product, in manufacturing. CAPP is the link between CAD and CAM in that it provides for the planning of the process to be used in producing a designed part. CAPP can be used to develop a product manufacturing plan based on projected variables such as cost, lead times, equipment availability, production volumes, potential material substitution routings and testing requirements. Manufacturing firms try to automate the task of process planning using CAPP systems due to many limitations of manual process planning. Process planning is a production activity that transforms a product design into a set of instruction (sequence, machine tool setup etc.) to manufacture machined part economically and competitively. Harnessing the power of the computer is extremely advantageous in process planning. CAPP translates design information into the process steps and instructions to efficiently manufacture parts. CAPP thus appears to fully integrate CAD and CAM. Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP) has been recognized as playing a key role in Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM). In the last two decades, a tremendous effort has been made in developing CAPP systems. However, the benefits of CAPP in the real industrial environment are still to be seen. In this paper, a software package is developed which will generate the manufacturing process sheet automatically. A computer program, using visual basic programming languages, is written for this purpose. The process sheet is developed by selecting the operation from the menu and then by feeding the part drawing details. The approach involves, asking a series of questions by the system to the user, about the component drawing and related details. Initially the system asks the user, about the choice of machining operation. The developed system is interactive and simple in use. Machining time and cost of experimental process planning is compare with generative computer aided process planning for each operation.