Manufacturability Evaluation Shell: A Re-Configurable Environment for Technical and Economic Manufacturability Evaluation

The process of manufacturability evaluation is composed of a series of generic tasks. Though domain knowledge is utilized to evaluate manufacturability the evaluation method itself is independent of domain. Manufacturability has different levels of abstraction – process level, workshop level and machine level. Currently existing assessment tools address manufacturability in specific domains and stages. In the emerging markets of increasing competition, streamlining the PRP involves designing with manufacturing capability in mind, and knowledge and application of new technology and processes. This paper proposes a generic domain independent shell for manufacturability that is configurable and customizable to any domain or process. The paper presents the three stages of manufacturability and its relevance to a domain independent approach to manufacturability assessment. The paper presents the problems plaguing current systems and charts out the requirements for a new generic shell that can overcome these shortcomings. The paper then presents the architecture of the shell and presents issues of implementation and two case studies (2.5D milling and injection-molding) as a proof of concept of the functioning of the shell.Copyright © 2003 by ASME