Metrics for Evaluating Machining Process Plans
Abstract Selection of the best plan from alternative process plans, and/or plan improvement, requires that we have a set of evaluation metrics. In this paper, we explore the issues related to measures of goodness of process plans at different levels. Several evaluation metrics are proposed such as feasibility, accuracy, consistency, operation-time and setups. These measures can not only help in plan selection but also in pin pointing the flaws in the process plans. Using the proposed metrics, a structured feedback mechanisms and a refinement framework could be developed to arrive at the best process plan. Evaluation is done at the operation and sequence levels, and could be extended to other levels. The measures take into account shapes, sizes, feature relations and all ANSI Y14.5M tolerances in the evaluation of process plans. The proposed measures are also relevant to DFM, since the inability to produce a satisfactory process plan implies difficult to satisfy design specifications.