Evaluation of machining strategies in cylinder-block manufacturing : Dynamic modeling

In order to face and win the competitive manufacturing environment, which is particularly relevant in automotive industry, companies need to improve and update their machining lines and continuously evaluate their performance. This is usually done by analyzing the impact of the flow of material on the performances of the line. However, machining system parameters also have a great influence on the performance of a machining line. Therefore, it is extremely important to settle machining system conditions that take into account their effect on the system performance. This is particularly crucial in the case of the selection of new machine tools, new lines and, in general, when relevant decisions have to be taken. Nevertheless, there is no methodology or decision support system for the improvement of performance based on the analysis of machining system and related parameters. This thesis aims to provide a framework for the evaluation of machining strategies in the context of a machine tool selection for a face milling process of a cylinder-block. The work will be based on a case study performed at Scania CV AB