An expert machining system for rotational parts

Includes bibliographical references (pages 93-96)An approach to facilitating the task of analyzing the various manufacturing aspects for design changes is to provide the design engineer with a tool capable of supplying information on machining parameter selection, cutting tool selection, and machining time for various machining operations. In this thesis, an expert system that generates cutting parameters, tooling information and machining time for a rotational component is designed. The cutting conditions are based on part features, surface finish requirements and the material used. The system consists of three modules: a feature identification module, a cutting tool selection module and a machining time generation module. A prototype system is developed using PC Plus, an expert system building tool. The prototype system is tested using two sample rotational components. The output of the system is the machining time, the tools to be used to generate the external and internal features of the workpart, and the Opitz code for the rotational component.M.S. (Master of Science