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International Journal of Computer Integrated

Manufacturing
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Feature-based modelling and neural networks-

based CAPP for integrated manufacturing
Chandra R. Devireddy
Published online: 08 Nov 2010.

To cite this article: Chandra R. Devireddy (1999) Feature-based modelling and neural networks-based CAPP
for integrated manufacturing, International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, 12:1, 61-74, DOI:
10.1080/095119299130470

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 INT. J. CO MPUTER INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING, 1999, VO L. 12, NO . 1, 61 ± 74
Fe ature -base d m ode llin g an d n e ural
n e tworks-base d CAPP for in te grate d
m an ufacturin g
CHANDRA R. DEVIREDDY and KALYAN GHOSH
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Ab stract. Th e inte gration of various te chnical activities in a
m an ufacturin g organ ization using com pu te r-base d syste ms is
ve ry e ffe ctive in im proving its com pe titiven ess. Com pu te r-
Aided Proce ss Plan ning ( CAPP) is an e sse ntial function in
Computer-In te grate d Man ufacturin g ( CIM) . During proce ss
planning, the de sign inform ation is interpre ted and appro-
priate m anufacturing ope rations specified, an d this activity
re quire s a significant am oun t of e xpe rtise. In this pape r, a
m ethodology of integrating the de sign and plan ning aspects of
m an ufacturin g is prop osed which utilize s the con ce pts of
Fe ature-Base d Mod elling ( FBM) and Artificial Ne ural Net-
works ( ANNs) . Im portan t proce ss plann ing activities are
ide ntified for the application of neural ne tworks in re alizin g
inte llige nt CAPP syste m s. An intelligen t CAPP m ethodology is
de ve lope d to sugge st the approp riate m anufacturing ope ra-
tions and their subdivision s. It is then inte grate d with an FBM
she ll, which is used to repre se nt the de sign aspe cts of the
com pon e nt from a m anufacturing poin t of vie w. An e xam ple is
prese nted. Th e use of ANNs approach has e nable d the
de ve lopm e nt of a ve ry fle xible CAPP m e th od ology that can
easily be train ed to handle ne w type s of com pon en ts.
1. Introduction
Th e m ain obje ctive of an y m an ufacturin g organ iza-
tion is to produce high quality products at th e lowe st
possible cost. Th e growin g com ple xity of ach ie vin g th is
obje c tive , with sh arply risin g costs an d in c re ase d
com pe tition , h as forc e d th e in du stry to look for
alternative s to th e traditional approache s to de sign ,
m an ufacturin g an d m an age m e nt. Man y in dustrie s are
adoptin g a con curre n t e n gin e e rin g approach to de ve l-
op an d produce ne w products in th e m ost e fficie n t
m an ne r. Wid e spre ad com pute rization an d inte gration
usin g com pute r-based system s of the various te ch nical
activities in a m an ufacturing organ ization are also ve ry
Au thors: C. R. Devired dy an d K. Ghosh, Dep artm e n t of Math e m atic s an d
In d ustrial Engin e e rin g, EÂcole Polyte chn ique , P.O . Box 6079, Statio n `Ce n tre -
ville ’ , Montre al, Q u e bec H 3C 3A7, Can ad a.
0951-192 X / 99 $12.00
e ffe ctive in im provin g th e com pe titiven e ss. O ne im -
p ortan t an d e sse n tial activity in m an u facturin g is
proce ss plan n in g, an d it is often don e m an ually at th e
p re se nt tim e . Proc e ss plann in g is a fun ction th at
e stablish e s a se t of m an ufacturin g ope rations an d the ir
suitable se que n ce , and spe cifie s th e appropriate tools
( m ach in e tools, cuttin g tools, jigs and fixture s, e tc.) an d
proce ss parame te rs in orde r to con ve rt a pie ce part
from its initial raw state to a final form pre de te rm in e d
from an e ngine e ring drawin g ( Ch an g 1990) .
Th e in terface be twe e n de sign an d m anufacturing
pre se n ts th e gre ate st difficulty in in te grating CAD an d
CAM to ach ie ve true Com pute r-In te grate d Man ufactur-
in g ( CIM) . Com puterization of th e proce ss plan ning
fun ction will provide th e autom ate d CAD/ CAM inte r-
fac e in ord e r to pr od u c e an in te gr ate d syste m .
Ex am in in g th e re ce n t de ve lop m e n ts in Com pute r-
Aid e d Proce ss Plan ning ( CAPP) , it can be obse rve d
th at CAPP is n ow in a strategic position to be th e bridge
be twe e n CAD an d CAM, and is a crucial are a for
re se arch an d de ve lopm e nt ( Don g et al. 1996, Wan g an d
Li 1991) . Inte gration an d in te llige nce are drivin g th e
pre se n t re se arch an d de ve lopm e n t of CAPP system s.
Artificial In tellige nc e ( AI) te chn ique s h ave sign ifican tly
im pacte d the re ce n t de ve lopm e nts in CAPP system s.
Key re search issue s of CAPP in clude the followin g.
( 1) De ve lopm e n t of m e th odologie s for com ple te
product de fin ition th at c apture s th e de sign ,
fun ction al and m an ufacturin g aspe cts of th e
part.
( 2) Au tom ation of p roce ss p lan n in g kn owle dge
ac qu isition with Artificial In te llige n ce p ara-
digm s.
( 3) De ve lopm e n t of `inte llige nt inte rface s’ be twe e n
CAD and CAM, in orde r to ge n e rate proce ss
plan s on -lin e , and also to ge n e rate alte rn ative
proc e ss plan s unde r sh opfloor con ditions.
Ó 1999 Taylor & Francis Ltd
 62 C. R. Devireddy an d K. Ghosh
Th e obje ctive of th e pre se nt work is the de ve lop-
m e n t of a system to in tegrate th e de sign and plan ning
aspe c ts of m an u facturin g, u tilizin g th e im portan t
con ce pts of Fe ature -Based Mode lling and Ne ural Ne t-
works. Th e m e th od ology propose d h e re involves th e
de velopm e n t of an in te llige n t com pute r-aide d proce ss
plan n in g proce dure to study th e m an ufacturin g fe a-
ture s, an d re com m e nd m an ufacturin g ope ration s an d
th e ir se que n ce . It is the n in tegrate d with a Fe ature -
Based Mode lling She ll, wh ich is use d to re pre se n t th e
com pon e n t de sign in form ation .
2. In te llige nt co m p u te r-aid e d p ro ce ss p lan n in g
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In a proce ss plan n ing system , kn owle dge of m an u-
facturin g m ust be capture d an d e ncode d in to e fficie n t
software p roc e d ur e s. Proc e ss plan n in g kn owle d ge
de te rm in e s wh at proce sse s will be use d to ge n e rate
diffe re nt ge om e tric fe ature s of the com pon e n t, by
m atch in g proce ss capabilities with de sign spe cification s.
Th e proce ss plan nin g knowle dge re pre se ntation m e th -
ods are re late d dire ctly to th e de cision logic in the se
system s. Th e e sse n tial data in put re quire m e n ts are th e
part de fin ition , shop m ode l data an d proce ss de cision
rule s. Th e com m on logic tools use d in the proce ss
plan n in g are :
( 1) de cision tre e s;
( 2) de cision table s;
( 3) artificial in te llige n ce ( AI) / Expe rt system s;
( 4) axiom atic approach.
Decision tre e s an d de cision table s are `static’ in
nature in term s of re pre sen tin g the proce ss plan ning
knowle dge . An axiom atic approach provid e s a logical
fram e work for de sign in g products and proce sses ( Suh
1990) . A succe ssful solution achie ve s the be st com pro-
m ise be twe e n a set of de sire d characte ristics of th e
de sign , known as fun ction al re quire m e n ts ( FRs) an d
de sign param e te rs ( DPs) . Ap plication of th e axiom atic
approach in CAPP is ye t to be e xplore d in the con te xt
of g e n e r atin g p roc e ss p lan s. Th e e xp e rt syste m s
approach is also `brittle ’ in nature , sin ce rule s h ave
sh arp boundarie s of application be yon d wh ich th e y fail
com ple te ly. Expe rt system s can n ot ge n e ralize from past
e xpe rie nce to han dle ne w, un fore se e n cases. Proble m s
with th e e xpe rt system s approach for proce ss plan ning
knowle dge re pre sen tation are as follows.
( 1) Expe rt system s pe rform e xh austive search e s for
m atch ing th e ir pattern s. Th e e xe cution tim e will
in cre ase rapidly with the in cre ase in th e num be r
of proce ss plan n ing rule s.
( 2) Ru le s are n on -u n iqu e to a proc e ss/ fe ature
com bin ation an d rule s can not be de vised for
e ve ry conce ivable proce ss/ fe ature com bin ation .
( 3) Ex pe rt system s h ave lim ited ability to le arn or
im prove th e ir be h aviour dynam ically.
2.1. Artificial n eural n etworks
Ne ural n e tworks are m assively paralle l-in te rc on -
ne cte d ne tworks of sim ple ( usually adaptive ) e le m e n ts
an d th e ir h ie rarchical organ ization s wh ich are in ten de d
to inte ract with obje cts of the re al world in the sam e way
as biologic al ne rvous system s do ( Koh on e n 1988) .
Artificial ne ural n e tworks can m odify the ir be h aviour
in re spon se to the ir e n vironm e nt. Th is factor, m ore
than any othe r, is re spon sible for the in te re st th e y h ave
re ce ive d in diffe re n t application dom ain s. Shown a se t
of in p u ts, th e y se lf-ad ju st to p rod u c e c on siste n t
re spon se s. Th e advantage s of n e ural n e tworks ove r
tradition al m ach in e le arn in g m e th odologie s are :
( 1) paralle l con side ration of m ultiple con straints;
( 2) capability for con tin ue d le arnin g th rough out
th e life of th e system ;
( 3) grace ful de gradation of the pe rform ance ; and
( 4) ability to le arn arbitrary m ap pin gs be twe e n
in put and output space s.
Man y diffe re n t n e ural n e twork arch ite cture s h ave
be e n de ve lope d ( Wan g 1993) . Th e se diffe r in the type s
of prop agation an d activation fun ction s use d, h ow un its
are inte rconn e cte d, and h ow le arn in g is im ple m e n ted.
A m ajor distin ction am ong ne tworks is wh e the r th e
system will be used for re c all ( re c ognition ) , pre dic tion
or classification. Re call system s are use d for n oise
filte rin g an d pattern com ple tion. Pre diction system s
can be use d to e stim ate the be haviour of com ple x
system s. Classification n e tworks cre ate m appin gs of
input pattern s into categories, re pre se n ted by charac-
teristic output pattern s. Th e use fuln e ss of the n e twork
com e s from its ability to re spon d to in put pattern s in
som e orde rly ( de sirable ) fashion . For th is to occur, it is
ne ce ssary to train the n e twork to re spon d corre ctly to a
give n in put pattern . Train in g, or kn owle dge acquisi-
tion, occurs by m odifyin g the we igh ts of the inte r-
conn e cte d e le m e n ts of th e ne twork to obtain th e
de sire d output. Th e m ost basic an d powe rful le arning
m e ch an ism is th e backpropagation algorith m . Th e
backpropagation n e twork is a m ultilayer fe e dforward
ne twork th at use s th e backpropagation train in g algo-
rith m . Backpropagation typifies supe rvise d le arn in g,
wh e re the task is to le arn to m ap input ve ctors to
de sire d output ve ctors. The de tails of the le arning
 FBM an d n eural n etworks-based CAPP
algorithm s an d th e ir e ngine e ring application s are n ot
with in th e scope of th is pape r, an d are we ll docum e n -
ted e lse wh e re ( Koh one n 1988, Wan g 1993) .
2.2. Neu ral n etwork methodologies for CAPP
Artificial Ne ural Networks ( ANNs) offe r a prom ising
solution in the are a of m apping th e m anufacturing
feature s of a com pon e nt to a se que n ce of m ach in ing
ope rations ( Kn app an d Wang, 1992) . In addition ,
ne ural ne twork m e thodology would e ase th e kn owle dge
acquisition bottle ne ck. Man y of the de cision -m aking
rule s in pre parin g a proce ss plan are base d on lon g
term e xpe rie n ce in m an ufacturin g. The in te rpre tation
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of th e e ngin e e ring drawin g, se le ction of appropriate
m ach in in g ope ration s an d th e ir se que nc e , cuttin g tools,
fixture s an d m achin in g param e te rs, e tc. can n ot be
m ode lle d m ath e m atically. Som e typical e xam ple s of th e
knowle dge possesse d by e xpe rie n ce d proce ss plan n e rs
are as follows.
· A m inim um tole ran ce of 0.05 m m on diam e te rs
can be h e ld, but this re quire s a rough cut an d
fin ish cut.
· Tole rance s of 0.03 m m can be h e ld in ordinary
re am in g ope rations. For tole ran ce s closer th an
th is, a pre c ision re am in g ope ration m ust be
adde d.
· Cost of a drille d h ole incre ase s proportion ate ly to
its de pth, un til the de pth be com e s thre e tim e s th e
diam e te r.
· Re am in g produce s the be st straigh tn e ss.
· Borin g gives th e be st parallelism .
· Inte rnal grin ding be com e s difficult wh e n th e h ole
le n gth e xce e ds 1200 m m or six tim e s the h ole
diam e te r.
· O nly grindin g can produce pre cise location an d
orien tation of th e hole axis with re spe ct to othe r
surface s, although both h on in g an d grin ding can
produce e xce lle nt roun dn e ss and straightn e ss.
· Inte rnal grin din g is m ore e con om ical than pre c i-
sion borin g wh e n tole ran ce s are be low 0.013 m m .
· O ne should spe cify th e m ost libe ral surface fin ish
an d dim e nsional tole rance con sisten t with th e
fun ction of the surface in orde r to sim plify th e
prim e m achin in g ope ration an d to avoid costly
se con dary ope ration s, e .g. grin din g, re am in g,
lappin g, e tc.
· Drille d h ole s should not be de e pe r th an th re e
tim e s th e diam e te r. Bore d hole s can be as de e p as
five tim e s th e diam e te r.
· For de e p narrow h ole s, con side r ste ppe d dia-
m e te rs.
63
In ge n e ral, an in te llige n t CAPP system sh ould
add re ss th e followin g activitie s re late d to proc e ss
plan n in g, in orde r to pre pare a proce ss plan :
· ability to inte rpre t an e n gin e e rin g drawing;
· m od e llin g of kn owle dge -re late d m an ufacturing
proce sse s and ope ration s;
· kn owle dge of toolin g an d fixture s; and
· r e lative c osts of p roc e sse s, toolin g an d raw
m ate rials.
Ne ural n e tworks, ch aracte rize d by th e ir le arn ing
ability, provide a prom ising approach for autom ate d
knowle dge acquisition , an d can be advantage ously use d
in de velopin g in tellige n t proce ss p lan n in g system s.
After care ful conside ration of the aspe cts of the CAPP
an d th e ability of the ne ural n e tworks, the followin g
im portan t proce ss plan n in g activities are ide n tifie d for
succe ssful application of n e ural n e tworks in de velop ing
a fully in te grate d inte llige n t CAPP system .
2.2.1. In terpretation of the design of the part. O n e of th e
m ajor con ce rn s in concurre n t de sign an d m an ufactur-
in g is th e autom atic in te rpre tation of de sign in form a-
tion for proce ss plan ning. In spite of se ve ral e fforts, a
ge n e ralize d m e thodology for con ve rting de sign infor-
m ation into m an ufacturin g in form ation is not available .
The e xisting CAD system s can only provide ge om e trical
m ode llin g data rathe r than fe ature m ode lling data of
de sign e d parts. In orde r to autom ate th e ge n e ration of
proce ss plan s, a proce ss plann in g system sh ould be able
to ide n tify m an ufactu rin g fe ature s from th e CAD
database. Ge n e rally spe aking, ge om e tric form fe ature s
are n ot th e sam e as th e m an ufacturin g fe ature s use d by
m an ufacturin g proce sse s. Usin g de sign inform ation
in cludin g locatin g an d orie n tation , dim e n sion s an d
ge om e try, a m an ufacturing fe ature can be re cognize d
by m atch ing pre de fin e d ge om e tric fe ature s with th e
re trie ved ge om e tric in form ation . An ove rall vie w of
fe ature e xtraction an d fe ature -based de sign approache s
in th e de ve lopm e nt of a de sign in te rface for proce ss
plan n in g is give n by Josh i an d Ch ang ( 1990) . Th e
aspe ct of m an ufac turin g fe ature ide n tification for
in tellige nt de sign using n e ural n e tworks is addre sse d
by Sm ith an d Dagli ( 1994) . Ne ural ne twork m e th odol-
ogy for the 3D-feature ide n tification is prop ose d by
H e n d e rson ( 19 94 ) . To c om p le te th e in te gration
be twe e n CAD an d its downstre am applications, th e
capability of `com pound fe ature re cognition’ would be
n e e de d for re cogn izin g m ore c om ple x com poun d
fe atu re s. For true in te gration of CAD with CAM,
fe ature -base d te chn ology is the e fficie n t way to un de r-
stand de sign part ge om e try. Be in g ge n e rative, in te lli-
ge n t CAPP system s m ust work with basic e ngine e ring
 64 C. R. Devireddy an d K. Ghosh
e le m e nts ( form fe ature s) for plan ning, rath e r th an
e n tire com pon e n ts.
2.2.2. Selection of machinin g operations an d their sequen ce.
Th e issue of se le ction of m ach in in g ope rations an d
th e ir se que n c e is an all im portant activity of proce ss
plan n in g, since it de te rm in e s the n ature and dire ction
of othe r fun ctions, e .g. se le ction of m achine tools,
se tups, cuttin g con dition s, e tc. In orde r to se le ct th e
be st m ach in in g ope ration s as we ll as th e ir seque n ce , it is
e ssen tial th at the inte llige n t CAPP system sh ould be
able to m ap m ach in ing ope ration s, an d th e ir characte r-
istics, with re spe ct to th e m an ufacturin g fe ature s an d
th e ir ge om e trical an d te chn ological con straints. Knapp
an d Wan g ( 1992) h ave de m on strate d th e ability of
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ne ural n e tworks in th e proc e ss se le ction and with in -
fe ature proce ss se que n cing from e xam ple s. Howe ve r,
th is approach is re stricte d for a particular type of
com pon e n t. A ge n e tic algorith m for se que nc ing ope ra-
tion s in proce ss plan n ing for parallel m ach inin g is give n
by Yip-Hoi and Dutta ( 1996) . In orde r to be able to be
in terface d to a CAD system , a ge n e ralize d inte llige n t
proce ss plan nin g m e thodology for an e n tire class of
com pon e n ts h as to be de ve lope d. This pape r addre sse s
th e de ve lopm e n t of an in tellige n t m e thodology for th e
se le ction of m ach in in g ope ration s an d the ir with in -
ope ration se que n ce , for axi-symm e tric al com pon e n ts.
2.2.3. Selection of machin e tools. Th is is an oth e r im portan t
aspe ct of in te llige n t CAPP th at h as n ot ye t be e n
add re sse d by th e re se arc h e rs. Th e m ach in e tools
ne e de d for the ge n e ration of fe ature s on th e com po-
n e n t sh ou ld be se le c te d base d on th e ir p roc e ss
capabilitie s, availability, cost of ope ration, e tc. Th is
ne e ds the acquisition of prope r kn owle dge to be able to
use the m achin e s in th e be st fashion .
2.2.4. Dimen sion in g an d toleran cin g. Ve ry fe w CAPP
system s have addre sse d th e aspe ct of proce ss tole ran -
cing an d dim e n sion in g. Th is m igh t be one of th e
re asons wh y CAPP has n ot sh own th e e xpe cte d re sults
in practice . Th e traditional algorith m ic m e th odologie s
of tole ran c e alloc ation c an n ot take in to acc oun t
diffe re nt possible distributions of part dim e n sions an d
fre que n t m e an shift of th e proce ss variation ( Altin g an d
Zh an g 1989) . Ne ural ne tworks can be applie d in solving
th e tole ran ce allocation proble m wh ile also conside rin g
diffe re nt distribution s for part dim e n sion s an d m e an
sh ifts.
2.2.5. Setup plann in g. Th e se le ction of se tups h as to be
pre c e de d by tolerance analysis, and an e valuation of th e
tole ran ce s con ce rning th e dim e nsion al and ge om e tri-
c al r e lation sh ip s be twe e n d iffe re n t sur fac e s. Th e
position in g accu racy of fixture s sh ould be an alysed
an d classified, an d close ly re late d surface s m ust be
m ach ine d in on e se tup, if possible . An un supe rvise d
le arning approach, usin g AND and O R update s rule s to
cluste r fe ature s based on the approach dire ction an d
tool type , for setup ge ne ration in proce ss plann in g is
re ported by Ch e n an d Le Clair ( 1993) . Th is approach
ge n e rate s se tups base d on tools n e e de d an d tool
approach dire ction s only. It is indicated th at tole rance ,
m ate rial an d m ach in in g ope ration in form ation sh ould
be con side re d for furth e r re search .
It is cle ar from th e above discussion that th e re is
gre at pote ntial for th e application of ne ural n e tworks in
the de ve lopm e n t of inte llige nt m e th odologie s for true
inte gration of de sign and m an ufacturin g in th e con text
of CIM.
3. Feature -b ase d m o d e llin g (FBM) system s
Ve ry fe w of th e CAPP system s h ave taken care of th e
m ajor lin k be twe e n CAD an d CAM, that of de velopin g a
ge ne ric m e th odology to e xtract an d in terpre t de sign
inform ation from a CAD system . Re cognition or ide nti-
fication of m ach in e d surface s of a com pon e n t is also
difficult, as that of e xtractin g dim e nsional and tech n o-
logical in form ation, with out h um an assistance . To ove r-
com e th e se lim itation s, an approach calle d Fe ature -
Base d Mod e llin g ( FBM) was prop ose d . Th e m ain
conce pt of feature -base d m ode llin g is to de sign in te rm s
of highe r le ve l e n titie s, i.e . feature s. Th e dim e n sional
inform ation used by th e de sign e r is not lost durin g th e
de sign stage ; rathe r, it is store d to h e lp the proce ss
plan n e r. In addition to th is, oth e r inform ation , e .g.
fun ction al in form ation , tole ranc e in form ation, e tc. are
store d in the product m ode l in the FBM m e th od ology.
Se ve ral de fin ition s for the te rm featu re h ave be e n
give n by re se arche rs. From a CAD/ CAM inte gration
poin t of vie w, a fe ature can be de fine d as: `A ge om e tric
form or e n tity wh ose pre se n ce or dim e n sion s are
re quire d to pe rform at le ast on e CIM function an d
wh ose availability as a prim itive pe rm its the de sign
proce ss to occur’ . In fe ature -base d m ode llin g, we do n ot
de sign in te rm s of lowe r le ve l e ntitie s, viz. face s, e dge s
an d vertice s. In ste ad, th e com pon e n t is m ode lle d in
term s of h igh e r le ve l e n titie s, i.e . feature s. For e xam ple ,
from th e de sign of a com pon e n t, we know th at a
through slot an d blin d cylin drical h ole are n e e de d. We
also know the ir dim e n sion s an d position with re spe ct to
e ach oth e r. So we m ode l th e com pon e nt in term s of th e
m ain com pon e nt and th e fe ature s with th e he lp of th e ir
dim e nsion s, orie ntation and re lative position ing. All th is
inform ation is store d e xplicitly durin g th e m ode lling
proce ss so th at th e proc e ss plan n e r can use th at
 FBM an d n eural n etworks-based CAPP 65

inform ation dire ctly. Som e e xam ple s of th e fe ature -
base d m ode lling system s are : ASU Fe ature s Te stbe d
( Sh ah et al. 1990, Wan g 1991) , GEKO ( Baue rt et al.
1990) , DICAD ( Grabouski et al. 1990) , IIICAD ( Pratt
1990) , an d GEO NO DE ( Bron svoort an d Jan se n 1993) .
Classification of fe ature s is totally application de pe n -
de n t. It is ve r y difficult to m ake an app lic ation -
inde pe n de n t classification of fe ature s. Base d on th e
e xistin g literature , classification of fe ature s according to
diffe re nt pe rspe ctive s is give n in table 1.
4. Inte llige n t ge n e rative p ro c e ss p lan n in g syste m
Th e m e thodology de ve lope d in th e pre se n t work is
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tion al com pon e nts are those wh ose basic sh ape can be
m ach in e d on lath e s, boring m ills, cylin drical grin de rs
or an y oth e r m achin e tool that applie s a prim ary
m otion to the wo rkpie ce . In de fin in g a com pone n t
sh ape as rotational, th e im portant factor is that in
m ach in ing its basic sh ape , the workpie c e is rotated.
Th e she ll is program m e d in Visual Basic an d is a
Win dows95-based software capable of m ode llin g rota-
tion al com pone n ts. Th e starting point in th e de sign of
th e com pon e nt is a blan k of a give n diam e te r, le n gth
an d m aterial. The com pon e n t is de sign e d by in corpor-
atin g m achinin g fe ature s to th is blank. Typical fe ature s
of rotational com pone n ts are incorporate d in th e sh e ll,
wh ich inclu de :

aim e d at in te gration of FBM an d in te llige n t proc e ss ( 1) hole Ð blin d and th rough ;

plan n in g th rough ANNs, in re alizin g an inte llige n t ( 2) tape rÐ in te rnal an d e xternal;
ge n e rative p roce ss p lan n in g syste m for rotation al ( 3) ste p;
com pon e n ts. Th e overall structure of the system is ( 4) thre adsÐ e xte rn al and in te rn al ( stan dard an d
sh own in figure 1. It con sists of th e followin g two square ) ; an d
m odule s: ( 5) coun te rsin k on the h ole s.

( 1) de velopm e nt of a Fe ature -Based Mode llin g she ll

for th e re pre sen tation of the de sign of th e
rotation al com pon e n ts; an d
( 2) de velopm e nt of an in te llige n t CAPP m e th odol-
ogy to study th e m anufacturing fe ature s, and to
re c om m e n d m an ufacturin g ope ration s, th e ir
se que n ce and th e ir sub-division .

4.1. Featu re-Based Modelling shell

A Fe ature -Based Mode llin g sh e ll is de ve lope d th at

could give in form ation about both form and pre cision Figure 1. FBM an d in te llige nt proce ss planning integration
feature s of th e de signe d rotation al com pon e nts. Rota- system .

Table 1. Classification of m anufacturing fe ature s according to differe nt pe rspe ctive s.

Pe rspe ctive Fe atures Typical attribute s

Form feature s Size , shape

1. Inform ation support require m en t
{ Pre cision feature s
Material fe atures
Tole rance , surface finish
Material type , m ate rial grade s, he at
tre atm e nt, etc.
De sign fe ature s Cen tre line , radius, function of th e feature

{
2. Applicability of the fe atures in
Proce ss plan ning fe atures Starting surface , m anufacturing m e thod
differe nt stage s of m anufacturing
Asse m bly fe atures Line, radius, tole rance
3. Structure of the fe ature Elem e ntary fe ature s Hole, ste p, etc.

{ Com pou nd fe atures

Function al feature
Ste pp ed hole
Scre w thre ad
4. Sh ape of the feature
{Prism atic feature
Cylindrical fe atures
Slot, pocke t, e tc.
Hole, fillet, arch, e tc.
 66 C. R. Devireddy an d K. Ghosh

Each fe ature is de fine d in te rm s of its ge om e tric an d
pre c ision attribute s. For e xam ple , a h ole feature has
attribute s of diam e te r, le n gth , position from the le ft
e n d of the com pon e n t, offset from th e ce n tre ( in th e
case of an e cc e n tric hole ) , tole rance an d surface fin ish .
Th e fe ature s in cor porate d in th e sh e ll an d th e ir
Table 2. Typical fe atures and their attribute s, incorporate d in
the FBM she ll.
Fe ature Attributes
Exte rnal ste p Le ngth, diam ete r, position, tole rance ,
surface finish
Th rough hole Diam e te r, offse t ( from cen tre ) ,
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attribute s are give n in table 2. Th e se are in put for e ach
feature durin g th e de sign stage , th rough use r-inte r-
active in put form s.
Each ch oice of fe ature is accom pan ie d by a use r-
inte ractive form , wh ich displays th e characte ristics of th e
feature . Figure 2 sh ows the de velope d Fe ature -Base d
Mode llin g She ll e n viron m e nt for the re pre sen tation of
rotational com pone nts. Th e figure also in corporate s a
form for th e user-inte ractive in put for th e de sign of an
e xte rnal tape r. Th e ge om e tric param e ters of in dividual
feature s can be e nte re d by th e use r, and late r m odifie d if
ne ce ssary. In th e figure , th e ge om e tric param e te rs
provide d for e xte rn al tap e r are : le ft diam e te r, righ t
diam e ter, le ngth an d position from the le ft e n d of th e
com pon e n t. Th e vie w of the fe ature be in g incorporate d

tole rance , surface finish is displaye d re lative to th e blan k ( lowe r le ft portion of

Blin d hole Le ngth, offse t, position, diam ete r,
the figure ) . At th e sam e tim e , th e curre nt status of th e
tole rance , surface finish
Exte rnal tape r Le ft diam e ter, right diam ete r, le ngth, blank ( top le ft portion of th e figure ) is also shown to
position, tole rance, surface finish he lp the use r corre late be twe e n the fe ature to be
Squ are thre ads Pitch circle diam e ter, le ngth, pitch, incorporate d and the part. Th e user can vary th e value s
position of th e attribute s be fore incorporating th e feature in th e
Internal thre ads Pitch circle diam e ter, le ngth, pitch,
curre nt part. At th is stage , the validity of th e feature is
position
Countersin k Le ngth, diam ete r che cke d with the h e lp of pre de fin e d fe ature constrain ts.
For e xam ple , a h ole , wh ich h as both le n gth an d

Figure 2. Fe ature -Based Mode lling she ll e nvironm e nt for the de sign of e xte rnal tape r fe ature .
 FBM an d n eural n etworks-based CAPP
diam e ter le ss th an an e xisting h ole an d locate d at th e
sam e position is im practical. The fe ature is acce pte d
only if it qualifies th rough all th e constraints th at are
im pose d for e ach fe ature . Value s re garding tole rance ,
surface fin ish , e tc. are the n re que ste d to be in put by th e
use r, through an oth e r use r-in te ractive form . Th e user
can m ake a copy of th e part an d its fe ature s in th e file s.
Ad dition ally, th e sh e ll provide s facilities for display of
the m ode lle d com pon e n t usin g wire -fram e re pre se n ta-
tion . Th e m ain c ap abilitie s of th e FBM sh e ll for
rotation al com pon e n ts are :
· form -based use r-in teractive in put for e ach feature ;
· m ate rial se le c tion for the com pon e n t;
· con tin uous in te gration of n e w feature s;
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· fe ature validation ;
· wire -fram e re pre sen tation of the m od e lle d com -
pone n t.
Th e output of the she ll is in th e form of a data file . It
give s in form atio n abou t th e typ e of fe atu r e , its
ge om e tric attribute s, an d pre cision characte ristics for
e ach fe ature . For th e m ode lle d e xam ple com pon e n t
Figure 3. Exam ple com pon e nt: ( a) FBM she ll output; ( b) drawin g of the com pon en t.
67
sh own in figure 3, th e output file ge n e rated by th is she ll
is sh own in figure 4. Figure 3( a) shows the output of th e
FBM she ll with re spe ct to the de sign e d com pon e n t in
th e form of wire -fram e re pre se n tation, an d figure 3( b)
sh ows the drawin g of the com pon e n t. Th is data file
( figure 4) is use d as input to th e in te llige n t ge n e rative
proce ss plan ning m odule for th e ide n tification of th e
m an ufacturin g ope ration s ne e de d to m anufacture th e
com pone n t.
4.2. In telligent generative process plan nin g methodology for
rotation al compon ents
Proce ss plan n ing is knowle dge in ten sive in nature .
O n e im portan t difficulty in de ve lop in g a proce ss
plan n in g system is th at th e plan ning logic for diffe re n t
kinds of parts varies con side rably. Th e plan nin g logic
for hole ge n e rating proc e sse s h as its own ch aracte ristics
wh e n com pare d to m illing proc e sses, e .g. pocke ting
an d groove m illin g. In ge n e ral, the proce ss plan n e r
le arn s m appin gs be twe e n input pattern s ( con sistin g of
th e feature s and attribu tes of a part) an d output
 68 C. R. Devireddy an d K. Ghosh

patterns ( con sisting of th e se que nce s of m ach ining
ope rations to apply to the se parts) . The m ain que stion
th at should be answe re d in th e de ve lopm e nt of n e ural
ne twork m e thodology for m achining ope ration se le c-
tion an d th e ir se qu e n c e is: h ow are m ac h in in g
ope rations se le cte d? Logically, th e prim ary aspe ct to
be con side re d in the se le ction of a m achin ing ope ra-
tion for a p articular fe atu re is wh e th e r a give n
m ach in ing proce ss can produce th e fe ature or not.
For e xam ple , an in te rn al pre cision step in a rotation al
com pon e nt can on ly be produce d by borin g an d
grindin g, but not by broach in g. Th e followin g factors
play an im portan t role in the se le ction of m ach ining
ope rations:
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( 5) ability of th e m an ufacturin g proce ss to m e e t th e
above re quire m e nts.
From th e e xpe rien ce of th e proce ss plan ne rs, th e
attribu te s of th e fe ature s an d th e c orre spon din g
m ac h in in g op e ration s n e e d e d to ge n e r ate th ose
feature s can be obtaine d. For th e pre sen t system , th e
data corre spondin g to th e in dividual feature s an d th e
m an u fac tur in g op e ration s n e e d e d to ge n e rate a
particular fe ature are colle cte d from the available
lite rature . Th e se data are arran ge d in to se ts of in put
an d corre spon ding output ve ctors. Th e m achinin g
op e rations an d th e ir capabilitie s, inc lude d in th e
pre se n t system , are give n in table 3. In addition to
n orm al ope ration s, p re cision op e ration s are also

( 1) type of fe atur e ( h ole , ste p , th re ad, tap e r,
ch am fe r, e tc.) ;
( 2) size of feature ( diam e te r, le n gth , e tc.) ;
( 3) pre cision n ature of feature ( dim e n sion al tole r-
an ce , surface fin ish, topological attribu tes, e .g.
circularity, straigh tne ss, e tc.) ;
( 4) re lationship be twe e n adjace n t fe ature s;
Figure 4. Fe ature data ge nerated by FBM she ll.
conside re d for m achin ing ope ration s of borin g an d
grin din g, an d are ide n tified with `pre c ision attribute ’
in th e table . Ne ur al n e twor k train in g d ata ar e
de ve lope d ke e pin g in vie w th e prin ciple s of de sign
for m anufacturing for e ach m an ufacturing ope ration.
For e xam ple , drille d hole s sh ould n ot be de e pe r th an
thre e tim e s the diam e ter. Conse que n tly, th e le n gth
attribute associate d with a h ole feature is re stricte d to
be le ss th an or e qual to thre e tim e s th e diam e te r of
the h ole , in the case of drillin g. Bu t bore d h ole s can
be five tim e s the diam e te r. Th is in form ation is built
into the train ing data.
Proce ss plan n e rs are in tere ste d in those fe ature s
that are ge n e rate d by som e seque n ce of m achinin g
proce sse s. Base d on th e particular value s of a fe ature ’ s
attribu te s, th e p ro c e ss p lan n e r c an id e n tify th e
se qu e n c e of ope ration s n e c e ssary to produc e th e
feature . Th e re fore , it is prude n t that basic ope ration s
sh ould be se le cted first in th e proce ss of sele ctin g
m ach in in g op e ration s. Acc ord in gly, two stage s of
de cision m aking are im ple m e nte d in our approach .
Th e first stage de als with th e ide n tification of the type
of m an ufacturin g ope ration s n e e de d for ge n e rating th e
feature s an d the ir se que nce . Th e secon d stage de als
with the subdivision of ope ration s into roughin g, se m i-
finish in g an d fin ish in g ope ration s.

Table 3. Capabilities of typical m achining op e rations.

Diame ter Le ngth Tole rance Surface finish Pre cision

O pe ration ( m m) (mm) (mm) ( m icrons) attribute

Drilling 3.0 ± 100.0 10.0 ± 300.0 0.080 ± 0.40 1.6 ± 9.5

Re aming 10.0 ± 100.0 30.0 ± 300.0 0.013 ± 0.08 0.5 ± 2.4
Borin g 19.0 ± 300.0 60.0 ± 900.0 0.025 ± 0.13 0.4 ± 6.3 Ye s
Grinding ( internal) 25.0 ± 300.0 75.0 ± 900.0 0.004 ± 0.02 0.1 ± 1.6 Ye s
Turn in g / groovin g /
5.0 ± 100.0 20.0 ± 300.0 0.030 ± 0.087 0.4 ± 9.0
taper turning
Grinding ( exte rnal) 5.0 ± 100.0 20.0 ± 300.0 0.012 ± 0.035 0.07 ± 1.6 Ye s
 FBM an d n eural n etworks-based CAPP 69

4.2.1. First stage. Th is step accom plish e s the task of
ide n tifying th e basic m an ufacturin g ope rations n e e de d
to ge n e rate th e fe ature an d th e ir seque n ce . This is
sim ilar to the philosoph y of ope ration s plan n ing of
CAPP. Th e input ve ctor of th e first stage n e ural n e twork
consists of e ight variable s, as sh own in table 4. Th e first
four n ode s of th e in put ve ctor de note th e type of
feature ( wh e the r it is a hole , ste p, tape r or th re ade d
feature ) . Th e ne xt four node s re pre sen t th e te ch n olo-
gical attribute s of the fe ature . Th e output from th e first
stage of th e n e ural n e twork con sists of de te rm in in g th e
ope rations re quire d for e ach feature of th e com pon e nt.
Th e basic id e a h e r e is th at for e ve r y de fin able
m an ufac tur in g fe atu re , p roc e ss p lan n e rs ad op t a
un ique m an ufacturin g ope ration , de pe n din g upon
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se que nce of th e ope rations to be pe rform e d is built in to
th e output vector of the n e twork itse lf. For e xam ple , th e
grindin g ope ration is usually the fin al ope ration to be
pe rform e d in orde r to obtain th e pre c ision re quire d of
th e fe ature . Also, borin g ( or re am ing) is pe rform e d
afte r d rillin g , wh ic h are th e ope ration s th at are
re quire d to obtain th e ne ce ssary pre cision on alre ady
ge n e rate d in te rn al fe ature s. For e xte rn al fe ature s,
turn in g, tap e r turn in g an d groovin g are n orm ally
pe rform e d be fore grindin g.
For e xam ple , typical input re gardin g a h ole fe ature
can be : `1 0 0 0 50 150 0.05 1.60’ . Th is re pre se nts th at
th e fe ature is a h ole , it h as a diam e te r of 50 m m , le n gth
of 150 m m , a tole ran ce re quire m e n t of 0.05 m m an d
surface finish re quire m e n t of 1.6 l . Sam ple d ne ural

the functional and te chn ological re quire m e n ts of th e
feature . For e xam ple , for th e sam e diam e te r an d le n gth
of a hole , if th e tole ran ce re quire m e n ts are con side r-
ably d iffe re n t, sim ple drillin g op e ration m igh t be
su fficie n t in on e c ase , an d drillin g an d re am in g
ope rations m ight be n e e de d in the oth e r case. Th e
first stage n e ural n e twork is traine d with the data
corre spondin g to this ph ilosoph y. A set of 59 train in g
pattern s is de ve lope d to re pre sen t m ach in in g ope ra-
tion s pe rform e d on rotational com pon e n ts. The output
ve ctor consists of e ight node s, re pre sen tin g m ach in ing
ope rations and th e ir se que n ce , as shown in table 4. Th e
n e twork training data for th e first stage are shown in
table 5. Th e in p u t valu e s c orr e spon d in g to th e
attribute s of diam e te r, le n gth , tole ran ce an d surface
fin ish are scale d appropriate ly to be in the range
be twe e n 0 and 1, to facilitate the train ing of th e
n e twork. For e xam ple , a value of 0.05 corre spon din g to
diam e te r actually re pre se n ts a ph ysical value of 50 m m .
A value of 0.075 for le n gth attribute corre sponds to
75 m m . For tole rance attribute, th e scaling factor is
un ity. For surface fin ish attribute , the scalin g factor is
10. That is, a value of 0.025 for surface finish re pre sen ts
0.25 m icrons.

Table 4. In put and outpu t ve ctors and architecture s of first and secon d stage ne ural n etwork m od ule s.

First stage Secon d stage

Inpu t ve ctor O utpu t ve ctor Inpu t ve ctor O utpu t vector

( 1) Type of feature Ð hole ( 1) Drilling ( 1) Diam e ter ( 1) Nature of fe ature

( 2) Type of feature Ð step ( 2) Re aming ( 2) Le ngth ( 2) Rough ing
( 3) Type of feature Ð taper ( 3) Borin g ( 3) Tole rance ( 3) Se m i-finishing
( 4) Type of feature Ð th re ad ( 4) Turn in g ( 4) Surface fin ish ( 4) Finishin g
( 5) Diam e ter ( 5) Tape r turnin g ( 5) Drilling ( 5) Rough ing
( 6) Le n gth ( 6) Groovin g ( 6) Re am ing ( 6) Se m i-finishing
( 7) Tole ran ce ( 7) Grinding ( 7) Borin g ( 7) Finishin g
( 8) Surface finish ( 8) Pre cision ( 8) Tu rning ( 8) Rough ing
( 9) Tape r turning ( 9) Se m i-finishing
( 10) Groovin g ( 10) Finish ing
( 11) Grinding ( 11) Lapp ing
( 12) Pre cision attribute

First stage architecture Se con d stage archite cture

Hidden layer 1 Hidden laye r 1

Neuron s in hidden layer 11 Ne uron s in hidden layer 11
Le arning rate 0.6 Le arning rate 0.5
Mom en tum rate 0.9 Mom entum rate 0.9
No. of training patterns 59 No. of training patte rns 151
No. of training ite rations 10 481 No. of training ite rations 34 164
Max. e rror ( RMS) 0.001 Max. e rror ( RMS) 0.001
Mode of te aching Batch Mode of teach ing Batch
 70 C. R. Devireddy an d K. Ghosh

Table 5. Sam ple d ne ural ne twork training data for the first stage .

In put ve ctor O utput ve ctor

thre ad
tape r

Tape r turn ing

hole

ste p

Surface finish
Tole rance
Diam ete r

Grooving

Grinding

Pre cision
Ream ing

Turning
Fe ature Ð

Fe ature Ð

Fe ature Ð

Fe ature Ð

Drilling
Le ngth

Boring
1 0 0 0 0.05 0.15 0.25 0.7 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 0 0 0 0.02 0.07 0.00 0.01 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
1 0 0 0 0.05 0.15 0.00 0.02 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
0 1 0 0 0.01 0.03 0.03 0.1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
0 1 0 0 0.01 0.05 0.04 0.25 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
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0 1 0 0 0.02 0.07 0.05 0.4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

0 0 1 0 0.02 0.07 0.02 0.02 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
0 0 1 0 0.05 0.15 0.02 0.05 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
0 0 1 0 0.07 0.25 0.03 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0

Th e output of the first stage is in binary form , i.e .

if an ope ration is n e e de d for the feature , it is
re pre sen te d as `1’ . O th e rwise , it is re pre se n ted as `0’ .
Fo r e xam p le , if th e ou tpu t of th e n e twork is
`11000010’ , it re pre se nts th e in form ation that drillin g,
re am in g an d grin ding ope ration s are n e e de d to
ge n e rate the m an ufacturin g fe ature , and m e e t th e
tole ran ce an d surface finish re quire m e nts. As can be
obse r ve d , th is is also th e n atu r al se que n c e of
ope rations. Th e arch ite cture of the first stage n e ural
ne twork is sh own in figure 5. Re le vant param e ters of
th e n e ural ne twork arch itec ture are shown in table 4.
If a fe ature can be ge n e rate d by a spe cial m ach ining
ope ration in ste ad of two or m ore m ach in in g ope ra- Figure 5. First stage ne ural network archite cture .
tion s ( in orde r to re duce th e cost of m ach in in g) , it is
re pre sen te d by th e e igh th output. For th e above
in put pattern, wh ich can be ge ne rate d by usin g into rough in g, se m i-finish in g and finish ing. The sam e
drilling and pre cision jig boring to m e e t th e spe cifie d classification is utilize d in th e pre se n t work. Sin ce th e
tole ran ce an d surface fin ish , the first stage output is: ge n e ral proce ss capabilitie s of drillin g, re am in g,
`10100001’ . borin g, turn in g, tape r turn ing, thre adin g are diffe r-
e n t from th at of grin ding, it is n ot advisable to group
4.2.2. Second stage. The se cond stage of th e n e ural th e gr in d in g op e r atio n alon g with th e oth e rs.
ne twork m e th odology de als with furthe r re fin e m e n t Be cause of this re ason, the secon d stage n e twork
of th e m an ufacturin g ope ration s in to cate gorie s, e .g. output has 11 attribute s. Th e in put vector to th e
rou gh in g, se m i-fin ish in g an d fin ish in g ope ration s. ne twork in th e se con d stage is give n in table 4. Th e
Th e logic be h in d th is ste p is th at on ce th e m ain input for th e above e xam ple se t is: `50 150 0.05 1.6 1
( or basic) m ach in in g ope rations are se le cte d ( with a 0 1 0 0 0 0 1’ .
vie w to re duc e costs an d also to m ain tain th e Th e output from th is stage of th e n e twork is
accuracy of the fe ature ) , th e y h ave to be subdivide d de sign e d to give th e ide a about m ain ope ration s an d
de pe n ding upon the tole ran ce and surface fin ish the ir subdivision. For e xam ple , a feature th at re quire s
re quire m e n ts. If th e te chn ological re quire m e n ts of on ly a drillin g ope ration m ay re quire rough an d se m i-
th e fe atu r e c an n o t be m e t in a sin gle stag e finish drillin g ope ration s to m e e t th e tolerance an d
ope ration, the n it is to be don e in stage s or ste ps. surface fin ish re quire m e n ts. Accordin gly, th e output of
Norm ally, con ve n tion al ope ration s are cate gorize d this ne twork in dicate s the subdivision of th e m ain
 FBM an d n eural n etworks-based CAPP 71

ope rations. In orde r to ke e p the num be r of outputs to a is in te rn al or e xternal. Th e subdivision s of drillin g an d

m in im um , th e n ature of th e ope ration ( e ith e r in tern al
or e xternal) is re pre se nte d by the first e le m e nt of th e
output ve ctor. Also, th e n um be r of outputs is de signe d
su c h th at fe we r ou tp u t n od e s r e p r e se n t all th e
m ach in in g ope ration s an d th e ir su bd ivision s. For
e xam ple , wh e n we have a drillin g ope ration ( wh ich
e sse n tially is an op e ration for ge n e ratin g in te rn al
fe ature s) , it is se ld om n e e de d to h ave a turn in g
ope r ation ( wh ic h e sse n tially is u se d to ge n e rate
e xte rn al feature s) . Likewise , wh e n we have a re am in g
ope ration, boring ope ration is rare ly use d. In addition,
the grin din g ope ration can be use d for both in tern al
an d e xte rn al fe ature s. This ph ilosophy is use d in
de sign in g th e outp ut of th e se c on d stage of th e
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turnin g ope ration s are re pre se n te d by the n ode s 2, 3
an d 4. The type of basic m ach ining ope ration ( drilling
or turnin g) can be ide ntifie d by noting th e value of th e
first node . If it is `0’ , drillin g is to be use d sin ce `0’
re pre sen ts an in ternal fe ature . O th e rwise , turn in g is to
be use d. The output n ode s 5, 6 an d 7 re pre se n t wh e the r
re am in g or boring ope ration is n e e de d. Basically, wh e n
re am in g ope ration is n e e de d, it is m an datory to h ave a
d rillin g ope ration . Wh e n a re am in g ope ration is
n e c e s s a r y , t h e o u t p u t i s r e p r e s e n t e d b y:
`00001110000’ , sin ce the drilling ope ration is usually
of `rough’ nature wh e n re am in g is to be pe rform e d.
Sim ilarly wh e n a boring ope ration is n e e de d, th e output
is re pre se n ted by: `0100xxxyyy0’ , wh e re `xxx’ re pre sen ts

ne twork. The followin g are the e le m e n ts of th e output th e thre e subdivisions ( rough, sem i-fin ish an d fin ish) of
ve ctor of the se cond stage : b orin g op e r ation an d `yyy’ r e p re se n ts th e th re e
subdivisions of in tern al grindin g ope ration. Th e archi-
( 1) Type of fe ature In te rn al = `0’ , Exte rn al = `1’ te cture of th e se cond stage of the n e ural n e twork an d
( 2) Rough Drillin g / Tu rn in g re le vant param e ters are shown in table 4. Figure 6
( 3) Se m i-finish Drillin g / Tu rn in g sh ows th e n e twork archite c ture of th e se cond stage .
( 4) Fin ish Drillin g / Tu rn in g The se con d stage n e ural n e twork is traine d with 151
( 5) Rough Re am in g / Borin g pattern s. Sam ple d ne ural ne twork training data for th e
( 6) Se m i-finish Re am in g / Borin g se con d stage are sh own in table 6. Th e input value s
( 7) Fin ish Re am in g / borin g corre sponding to the attribute s of diam e te r, le ngth ,
( 8) Rough Grin din g tole rance an d surface fin ish are scale d appropriate ly,
( 9) Se m i-finish Grin din g accordin g to th e m e th od ology discusse d for the first
( 10) Fin ish Grin din g stage . Th e n e u ral n e twor k outpu t for th e above
( 11) Lappin g e xam ple is: `01000110000’ , wh ich re pre se n ts th e se -
que n ce of rough drillin g, se m i-finish an d finish boring
Type of fe ature ( in te rnal or e xte rn al) is re pre se n te d as ope rations.
`0’ or `1’ . Th is h e lps in ide n tifying wh e the r th e fe ature

5. Discu ssio n

Th e classification of proc e sses accordin g to pre ci-

sion is pe rform e d usin g tole ran ce an d surface fin ish
value s th at are norm ally achie vable for the proce ss. Th e
d ivision be twe e n diffe re n t proce sse s is n ot cle arly
d e fin able , sin c e lowe r tole r an ce value s are ofte n
ach ie vable by a ce rtain proce ss but with additional
proce ss con strain ts wh ich invariably in cre ase s th e cost.
For e xam ple , if a ste p fe ature h as ve ry close tole ran ce s
wh ich lie be twe e n turning and grindin g an d a high
surface rough ne ss, it is be tte r to choose turn ing alon e
sin ce it would re duce proce ssing costs. But on the oth e r
h an d, wh e n surface rough n e ss re quire d is also ve ry fine ,
grindin g proce ss is to be use d sin ce turnin g alon e will
n ot be able to give fin e surface rough ne ss. Th us, th e
n e ural n e twork m ode l h as to be traine d to diffe re n tiate
be twe e n th e se situation s. This diffe re n tiation is built
in to th e se con d stage of the n e ural n e twork m ode l.
Th e n e twork is traine d with a backpropagation
Figure 6. Se con d stage ne ural n etwork archite cture. algorith m , using batch train in g. In batch train in g,
 72 C. R. Devireddy an d K. Ghosh

Table 6. Sam ple d ne ural n etwork training data for the se con d stage .

In put ve ctor O utput ve ctor

Pre cision attribute

Nature of fe ature
Taper turning

Se m i-finishing

Se m i-finishing

Se m i-finishing
Surface finish
Tole ran ce

Rough ing

Rough ing

Rough ing
Diam e ter

Grooving

Finishing

Finishing

Finishing
Grinding
Re am ing

Lapping
Turning
Drilling
Le ngth

Boring
0.006 0.02 0.18 0.4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0.006 0.02 0.12 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0.006 0.02 0.075 0.12 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0.025 0.075 0.052 0.15 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
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0.025 0.075 0.033 0.09 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

0.025 0.075 0.021 0.03 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
0.025 0.08 0.33 0.4 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
0.025 0.08 0.13 0.15 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
0.025 0.08 0.052 0.04 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
0.05 0.15 0.025 0.032 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0
0.05 0.15 0.016 0.009 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0
0.02 0.06 0.30 0.45 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0.02 0.06 0.12 0.375 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0.02 0.06 0.048 0.175 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0.025 0.075 0.033 0.125 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
0.025 0.075 0.013 0.011 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
0.025 0.075 0.006 0.0011 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1
0.1 0.3 0.54 0.9 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0.1 0.3 0.22 0.63 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0.1 0.3 0.087 0.25 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0.1 0.3 0.054 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
0.1 0.3 0.022 0.016 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
0.1 0.3 0.010 0.0016 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1

Table 7. Input an d outpu t of th e first stage neural ne twork.

Fe ature Input O utput Re com m e nde d ope rations

1. Hole 1 0 0 0 0.02 0.18 0.200 0.300 10000000 Drilling

2. Ste p 0 1 0 0 0.05 0.04 0.150 0.200 00010000 Tu rn ing
3. Tap er #1 0 0 1 0 0.05 0.05 0.200 0.012 00001010 Tap er turn ing and grinding
4. Tap er #2 0 0 1 0 0.04 0.01 0.100 0.400 00001000 Tap er turn ing
5. Th re ad 0 0 0 1 0.05 0.04 0.130 0.400 00010100 Tu rn ing an d groovin g

Table 8. Input an d outp ut of the se con d stage neural ne twork.

Fe ature Inpu t O utput Re com m e nded ope rations

1. Hole 0.02 0.18 0.20 0.300 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 01110000000 Rough , se m i-finish and fin ish drilling
2. Ste p 0.05 0.04 0.15 0.200 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 11100000000 Rough and sem i-finish turning
3. Tap er #1 0.05 0.05 0.02 0.012 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 11100001010 Rough and sem i-finish tape r turning,
roug h and finish grinding
4. Tap er #2 0.04 0.01 0.10 0.400 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 11000000000 Rough taper turning
5. Th re ad 0.05 0.04 0.13 0.400 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 11100000000 Rough and sem i-finish turning and
groovin g
 FBM an d n eural n etworks-based CAPP
we igh t adjustm e nts are m ade after all th e pattern s are
pre se n te d to the ne t in e ach ite ration. For the first stage
ne ural n e twork, 59 data pattern s have be e n use d. Th e
num be r of ite ration s re quire d for trainin g the n e twork
to th e e rror le vel of 0.001 is 10481. Sim ilarly, for th e
se con d stage of the n e ural n e twork m e th odology, 151
trainin g pattern s have be e n use d. Th e num be r of
ite ration s re quire d for train ing the ne twork to the e rror
le ve l of 0.001 is 34164.
For the com pon e nt shown in figure 3, th e data file
ge ne rate d th rough th e Fe ature -Based Mode lling She ll
is sh own in figure 4. Th e data inte gration be twe e n th e
FBM sh e ll and th e n e ural n e twork m e th odology is
im ple m e nte d th rough this data file. This data file is
use d in obtain in g th e type of fe atu re s an d th e ir
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attribute s, wh ich are pre se n t in th e com pon e nt. Th e
FBM sh e ll prun e s this file to ge n e rate th e file in a
suitable form at to be use d as an input file for th e first
stage of th e ne ural ne twork m e thodology. From th e
output of th e first stage ne ural ne twork m odule , th e
input for th e sec on d stage n e ural n e twork m odule is
ge ne rate d. For the e xam ple com pon e nt, shown in
figure 3, the corre spon din g m an ufacturin g ope rations
ide n tified th rough first an d se con d stage s of th e ne ural
ne twork m ode l are sh own in table s 7 an d 8, re spe ctive ly.
For e xam ple , for th e fe ature `TAPER #1’ , th e first stage
output `00001010’ m e an s tape r turnin g and grin din g
ope ration s are re quire d. Th e se con d stage output
`11100001010’ m e an s th at it is an e xte rn al feature ,
rough an d se m i-fin ish tape r turn ing, an d rough an d
finish grin ding are re quire d. It re quire s a tole ran ce of
20 m icron s an d a surface finish of 0.12 m icron s. Both
tape r turn in g and grin ding proce sse s have to be use d,
since turning alon e can give tole ran ce s up to 62 m i-
cron s for this dim e n sion, wh ich is unacce ptable . In
furthe r c lassification , rough grindin g can give tole ran ce
only up to 39 m icrons an d surface fin ish of 1.5 m icron s.
He n ce , both rough and fin ish grindin g are sugge ste d by
the se con d stage of th e n e ural n e twork, be side s rough
an d se m i-fin ish tur n in g, as give n in table 8. By
inte rpre tin g th e outputs of the first an d secon d stage
ne ural n e tworks toge the r, the re quire d se que n ce of
op e ration s, an d th e ir subd ivision s, to ge n e r ate a
particular feature can be obtain e d.
6. Co n clu sio n s
Com pute rization of th e proce ss plan ning fun ction
an d its in tegration with th e CAD system s will gre atly
im prove th e e fficie n cy an d com pe titiven e ss of m an u-
facturin g e n terprise s. In addition , the de ve lopm e n t of
powe rful an d flexible CAPP system s will be ve ry use ful
to th e m an ufacturin g e n gine e rin g spe cialists wo rkin g in
73
con curre nt e n gin e e rin g m ultifun ction al product de vel-
opm e nt te am s. In the pre sen t work, a n e ural n e twork-
base d in te llige n t proc e ss plan nin g m e thod ology has
be e n in te grate d with a Fe ature -Based Mode llin g system
to ge ne rate the se que nce of m ach in ing ope ration s
n e e de d to m ach ine the com pone n t. Th e output of th e
FBM sh e ll, wh ich con tain s th e in form ation abou t
fe ature s, an d th e ir dim e n sion al an d pre cision attri-
bute s, is utilize d by th e n e ural n e twork-based proce ss
plan n in g m e th odology. Th e use of Artificial Ne ural
Networks ( ANN) approach h as e n able d th e de ve lop-
m e nt of a ve ry flexible CAPP m e th odology th at can be
e asily traine d to han dle n e w type s of com pon e nts. A
com pone n t with rotation al sym m e try has be e n an alysed
by this proc e dure , an d the system h as ide n tifie d th e
appropriate m ach in in g ope ration s in orde r to obtain
th e spe cifie d value s of th e tole rance an d surface finish .
The m e th od ology th at h as be e n pre se n te d h e re can
substantially re duce the tim e taken to ge n e rate th e
proce ss plan s, an d the re sults will be of a con siste n t
quality.
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