Representation and similarity assessment in case-based process planning and die design for manufacturing automotive panels

This work improves process planning and die design in automotive panel manufacturing using a novel case-based reasoning (CBR) methodology. An innovative indexing representation and retrieval approach are also addressed. The flat-bend graph, which is utilized to represent a panel model with a B-rep structure, retains geometric and topological data in the Standard for the Exchange of Product model data format. Flat-type faces collected into several groups are represented by graph nodes, and bend-type faces are represented by graph arcs. Based on the topological information between bend-type faces and flat-type faces, a graph is constructed. Additionally, the holes detected are considered another graph node types. Geometric information and stamping parameters are utilized as graph attributes. To retrieve an appropriate case for a potentially huge search space, independent maximal cliques detection is applied. All independent maximal cliques that represent the maximum number of features shared by models are identified. Based on the retrieval result, previous process plans and die sets can be acquired for use by new cases. Experimental results obtained using the CBR system integrated with the product data management system demonstrate the practicality of reusing previous designs to accelerate stamping process planning and die design.

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