INTEGRATION OF CAD CAM AS SEEN FROM THE PRODUCTION PLANNERS POINT OF VIEW

CAD/CAM is supposed to be one of the new tools to obtain increased productivity and flexibility in mechanical engineering. One of the first tasks to be performed after the design phase is process planning. The purpose of this planning is to select processes and operations for an optimal production. This is a creative task and is therefore dependent on long experience and very skilled planners. The article describes process planning in general and communication with CAD in particular. Some new developments using an integrated product model are described.