INTEGRATION OF PROCESS PLANNING AND SCHEDULING FUNCTIONS

Automated process planning (APP) has received a considerable amount of attention in recent years. This has mainly been due to APP allowing for the bridging of the gap between design and manufacturing, and for its automation of the related tedious human task. While there have been several efforts in developing interfaces between computer-aided design (CAD) and APP, little attention has been given to the integration of APP and scheduling, which is likely to be of even higher importance. This paper addresses the basic issues involved in the integration of the two functions, demonstrates a methodology and the potential benefits of the integrated approach by an example, and presents directions for future research.