MINCAPP: an explanatory computer-aided process planning system

Few existing DFM (Design for Manufacture) and CAPP (Computer-Aided Process Planning) systems can give explanations of their outputs and reasoning mechanisms. In practice, it is of great necessity to develop manufacturability analyzing systems that not only examine the manufacturing problems, but also produce concrete recommendations and render explanations accordingly. The automatic generation of useful and understandable explanations is a difficult task and cannot be achieved in a straightforward manner. A new approach to acquiring and modeling explanatory knowledge for design for manufacture systems is presented. To demonstrate the functionality and applicability of this explanation model, the explanation function has been incorporated into a process planning system that examines the manufacturability of rotational machined parts at the early design stage.