Process Planning and Concurrent Engineering
Sections:
1. Process Planning
2. Computer-Aided Process Planning
3. Concurrent Engineering and Design for Manufacturing
4. Advanced Manufacturing Planning
Process Planning
Determining the most appropriate manufacturing processes and the
sequence in which they should be performed to produce a given part
or product specified by design engineering
Limitations imposed by available processing equipment and productive
capacity of the factory must be considered
Parts or subassemblies that cannot be made internally must be
purchased from external suppliers
Who does Process Planning?
Traditionally, process planning is accomplished by manufacturing
engineers who are familiar with the particular processes in the
factory and are able to read engineering drawings
Based on their knowledge, skill, and experience, they develop
the processing steps in the most logical sequence required to
make each part
Some details are often delegated to specialists, such as tool
designers
Details in Process Planning
Interpretation of design drawings
The part or product design must be analyzed to begin the process planning
procedure
Starting materials
Dimensions
Tolerances
Processes and sequence
The process plan should briefly describe all processing steps used to produce
the work unit and the order in which they will be performed
More Details in Process Planning
Equipment selection
The process planner attempts to develop process plans that utilize existing plant
equipment
Otherwise, the part must be purchased, or new equipment
must be installed in the plant
Tools, dies, molds, fixtures, and gages
Design of special tooling is usually delegated to the tool design group, and
fabrication is accomplished by the tool room
More Details in Process Planning
Methods analysis
Hand and body motions, workplace layout, small tools, hoists for lifting heavy
parts
Methods must be specified for manual operations (e.g., assembly)
and manual portions of machine cycles (e.g., loading and unloading a
production machine)
Work standards
Time standards set by work measurement techniques
Cutting tools and cutting conditions for machining operations
Process Planning for Parts
Processes needed to manufacture a given part are
determined largely by the material out of which the part
is made and the part design itself
The material is selected by the product designer based on functional
requirements
Once the material has been selected, the choice of possible processes
is narrowed considerably
Typical Processing Sequence
A typical processing sequence to fabricate a discrete part consists of
1. A basic process
2. One or more secondary processes
3. Operations to enhance physical properties
4. Finishing operations
Typical Processing Sequence
Typical sequence of processes required in part
fabrication
Basic and Secondary Operations
Basic process
Establishes initial geometry of work-part
Examples: metal casting, forging, sheet metal rolling
Secondary processes
In most cases, the starting geometry must be modified or
refined by a series of secondary processes, which transform
the basic shape into the final geometry
Examples: machining, stamping
Property Enhancement and
Finishing Operations
Operations to enhance properties
Heat treatment operations
Treatments to strengthen metal components
In many cases, parts do not require these property
enhancing steps
Finishing operations
The final operations in the sequence
Usually provide a coating on the work surface
Examples: electroplating, painting
Examples of
Typical Process Sequences
Basic process Secondary Property Finishing
Process(es) enhancing operations
Sand casting Machining Heat treating Painting
Rolling sheet Blanking, bending (none) Plating
Forging Machining (none) Painting
Extrusion (Al) Cut to length (none) Anodizing
Casting of glass Press, blowing Annealing Chem. etch
Process Planning: Basic Process
Process planning usually begins after the basic process
has provided initial part shape
Example: machined parts begin as bar stock or castings
or forgings, and these basic processes are often external
to the fabricating plant
Example: stampings begin as sheet metal coils or strips
purchased from the mill
These are the raw materials supplied from external
suppliers for the secondary processes performed in the
factory
The Route Sheet
The document that specifies the details of the process plan
The route sheet is to the process planner what the
engineering drawing is to the product designer
Route sheet should include all manufacturing operations to
be performed on the workpart, listed in the order in which
they are to be performed
Route Sheet for Process Planning
Process Planning for Assemblies
For single stations, the documentation contains a list of
the assembly steps in the order in which they must be
accomplished
For assembly line production, process planning consists
of line balancing - allocating work elements to particular
stations along the line
As with process planning for individual parts, any tools
and fixtures needed to accomplish a given assembly task
must be decided, and the workplace layout must be
designed
Make or Buy Decision
Inevitably, the question arises whether a given part
should be purchased from an outside vendor or made
internally
Virtually all manufacturers purchase their starting
materials from suppliers
Very few production operations are vertically integrated
all the way from raw materials to finished product
Make or Buy Decision (continued)
Given that a company purchases some or all of its starting
materials
Shouldn’t we question whether the company should
purchase the parts that would otherwise be made in its
own factory?
The answer to the question is the make or buy decision
The make versus buy question is probably appropriate to
ask for every component used by the company
Computer-Aided Process Planning
During the last several decades, there has been
considerable interest in automating the process planning
function by computer systems
Shop people knowledgeable in manufacturing processes are
gradually retiring
An alternative approach to process planning is needed, and
computer-aided process planning (CAPP) provides this
alternative
Benefits of CAPP
Process rationalization and standardization
CAPP leads to more logical and consistent process plans than
traditional process planning
Increased productivity of process planners
Reduced lead time to prepare process plans
Improved legibility over manually written route sheets
Incorporation of other application programs
CAPP programs can be interfaced with other application
programs, such as cost estimating, work standards, and NC part
programming
CAPP Systems
Computer-aided process planning systems are designed
around either of two approaches:
1. Retrieval systems
2. Generative systems
Retrieval CAPP Systems
Based on group technology and parts classification and
coding
A standard process plan is stored in computer files for each
part code number
The standard plans are based on current part routings in
use in the factory, or on an ideal plan prepared for each
family
For each new part, the standard plan is edited if
modifications are needed
Also known as variant CAPP systems
Retrieval CAPP System
Operation of a retrieval type computer-aided process
planning system
Retrieval CAPP Systems - continued
If the file does not contain a standard process plan for the
given code number, the user may search the file for a
similar code number
By editing an existing process plan, or starting from
scratch, the user develops a new process plan that
becomes the standard plan for the new part code
Final step is the process plan formatter
Formatter may call other application programs:
determining cutting conditions, calculating standard times,
or computing cost estimates
Generative CAPP Systems
Rather than retrieving and editing an existing plan from a
data base, the process plan is created using systematic
procedures that might be applied by a human planner
In a fully generative CAPP system, the process sequence
is planned without human assistance and without
predefined standard plans
Designing a generative CAPP system is a problem in
expert systems
Computer programs capable of solving complex problems that
normally require a human with years of education and
experience
Components of an Expert System
Knowledge base
The technical knowledge of manufacturing and logic used by
process planners must be captured and coded in a computer
program
Computer-compatible part description
The description must contain all the pertinent data needed to
plan the process sequence
Inference engine
The algorithm that applies the planning logic and process
knowledge contained in the knowledge base to a given part
description
Product Development: Two Approaches
Comparison of:
(a) traditional product
development cycle,
(b) product development using
concurrent engineering
Traditional Approach to Launch a Product
An approach to product design that tends to separate design
and manufacturing engineering
Product design develops the new design, sometimes with
small regard for the manufacturing capabilities possessed by
the company
There is little interaction between design engineers and
manufacturing engineers who might provide advice on
producibility
Concurrent Engineering
An approach to product design in which companies attempt
to reduce elapsed time to bring a new product to market
by integrating design and manufacturing engineering, and
other functions
Manufacturing engineering becomes involved early in the
product development cycle
In addition, other functions are also involved, such as field
service, quality engineering, manufacturing departments,
vendors, and in some cases customers
Concurrent Engineering
All of these functions can contribute to a product design
that performs well functionally, and is also manufacturable,
assembleable, inspectable, testable, serviceable,
maintainable, free of defects, and safe
All viewpoints have been combined to design a product of high
quality that will deliver customer satisfaction
Through early involvement of all interested parties, the
total product development cycle time is reduced
Design for Manufacturing and Assembly
Estimated that 70% of the life cycle cost of a product is
determined by basic decisions made during product design
Decisions include material for each part, part geometry,
tolerances, how parts are organized into subassemblies,
and assembly methods
Once these decisions are made, the ability to reduce
manufacturing cost of the product is limited
How Design Affects Process Planning
Example: If the product engineer designs an aluminum
sand casting with features that can be achieved only by
machining
Then the process planner must specify sand casting
followed by the necessary machining operations
The manufacturing engineer might advise the designer
that a plastic molded part would be superior
It is important for the manufacturing engineer to have an
opportunity to advise the design engineer as the product
design is evolving
Design for Manufacturing and Assembly
An approach to product design that systematically includes
considerations of manufacturability and assembleability in
the design
DFM/A includes:
Organizational changes
Design principles and guidelines that should be
implemented during product design
Organizational Changes in DFM/A
To implement DFM/A, a company must make
organizational changes to provide closer interaction
between design and manufacturing personnel
Often done by forming design project teams consisting of
product designers, manufacturing engineers, and other
specialties
In some companies, design engineers must spend some
career time in manufacturing to learn about the problems
encountered in making things
DFM/A Principles and Guidelines
DFM/A includes principles and guidelines that indicate
how to design a given product for maximum
manufacturability
Many of these principles and guidelines are universal
Rules of thumb that can be applied to nearly any product
design situation
In addition, DFM/A includes principles that are specific
to given manufacturing processes
Examples of DFM/A Principles
Minimize number of components in the product
Use standard commercially available components
wherever possible
Use common parts across product lines
Design parts with tolerances that are within process
capability
Design product for foolproof assembly
Use modular design
Shape parts and products for ease of packaging
Eliminate or reduce adjustments
Other Product Design Objectives
Design for quality
Principles and procedures to ensure that the highest possible
quality is designed into the product
Design for product cost
Efforts to specifically identify how design decisions affect
product costs and to develop ways to reduce cost through
design
Design for life cycle
Gives consideration to costs associated with reliability,
maintainability, serviceability, etc., which may be a significant
portion of the total cost of the product
Advanced Manufacturing Planning
Emphasizes planning for the future
Distinct from process planning because it is concerned with
products being contemplated in the company's long-term plans
rather than products currently being designed and released
Advanced manufacturing planning attempts to forecast the
new products that will be introduced in the two to 10 year
future
And to determine what production resources will be needed to
make those future products
Activities in Advanced Manufacturing
Planning
1. New technology evaluation
Decisions required whether to develop new processes for
future products in-house or purchase from vendors
2. Investment project management
Investments required for new process technologies must be
planned and managed
3. Facilities planning
New plants may be needed to produce new products
4. Manufacturing research and development
To develop the new process technologies
Advanced Manufacturing Planning
