A new approach to manufacturing features for evaluation and operational planning

In this paper we introduce a new approach and definition to manufacturing features which is useful for manufacturing evaluation and for generative operation planning. A manufacturing feature here is based on extraction of manufacturing feature primitives that correspond to faces of a solids model and the accessibility of a factory resident machine tool. These features are not based on form or templates. Extraction of a primitive includes calculation of the cutting path and operation parameters for that primitive, which in turn permits the calculation of machining cost and time. These primitives are grouped, or clustered, into manufacturing features based on an objective function, such as minimum-cost. A manufacturing feature is a logical grouping of manufacturing feature primitives that share a machine, setup, and cutting tool. This unique conceptualization of manufacturing features that does not rely on form features. With this approach many manufacturing feature interpretations are possible for a single model. The methodology is presented that provides a foundation for the development of clustering heuristic and operational planning.