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Title: Coupling rule-based and object-oriented programming for the classification of machined features

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5654389

An expert system, XCUT, currently is being developed which will generate process plans for the production of machined parts given descriptions of manufacturing features. Generally speaking, these features form recurring geometric and technological patterns for which an expert process engineer has acquired years of manufacturing experience. Because they capture much of the terminology and methodology of the process engineer, manufacturing features have become a topic of considerable interest in the development of process planning systems. In the XCUT system manufacturing features generally correspond to volumes of material which are to be removed from an initial stock. A language has been developed for XCUT which generates an object-oriented description of a feature as well as methods for extracting relevant information from the feature volume representation. These methods may invoke either procedural code or production rules to deduce the appropriate information. In addition, the language generates a production rule whose conditions use these methods to identify an instance of the appropriate feature body. These rules are then used by the XCUT planning system to automatically classify and define feature instances from the initial solid geometric descriptions. This paper describes the XCUT feature language and illustrates its use for the automatic classification of features. 22 refs., 19 figs.

Research Organization:
Allied-Signal Aerospace Co., Kansas City, MO (USA). Kansas City Div.
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE/DP
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-76DP00613
OSTI ID:
5654389
Report Number(s):
KCP-613-4130; CONF-8908153-1; ON: DE89017705
Resource Relation:
Conference: Computers in engineering conference, Anaheim, CA (USA), 2 Aug 1989
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English