Feature based process planning in environmentally conscious machining – Part 2: macroplanning

Abstract A second aspect of integrating environmental factors into manufacturing process planning is macroplanning, where the inter-relationships between features are accounted for. While micro-planning results in a process plan which is the aggregation of feature-level optimal plans, the aggregation of microplans does not necessarily result in a globally feasible process plan for a given part. Macro-planning issues which have significant environmental impact include process sequence selection for intersecting or nested features and feature clustering based on common setups and catalysts (tools and cutting fluids). These macro-planning issues influence both batch-level routing and scheduling decisions in a job shop and resource allocation, line balancing and facility planning decisions in a transfer line. Building upon the feature-level optimization presented in Part 1, case studies of feature interactions will be presented and an overall sequencing algorithm will be outlined. Both the micro and macro-planning schemes are integrated with a solid modeling environment to serve as a platform for analyzing incremental component design changes.