A Graph-Based Approach for Capturing the Capability Envelope of a Machining Process

Abstract

In this paper, we present a method to determine the capability envelope of a machining process which consists of a sequence of parameterized machining operations. First, operations as well as workpiece in a machining process are represented using a Parametric Feature Relational Graph (P-FRG). Second, the workpiece P-FRG within a process is updated step-by-step by mixing with operation P-FRGs as the operations in the process are successively applied to it. Since alternative setups may exist for an operation, a tree of workpiece P-FRGs can be generated for a process. All the P-FRGs at the leaf nodes of the tree together form the capability envelope of the machining process, that is, the envelope of the parts that can be produced using the process from a given initial workpiece. The parameter mappings, from the parameters of a machining process to the parameters of a part P-FRG in the capability envelope, are also given in this paper. The capability envelope can be applied to the integration of part design and process planning.