| The present trend in manufacturing technology indicates strong tendencies to integrate computer aided design (CAD) and computer aided manufacturing (CAM) to attain the computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) system. Computer aided process planning (CAPP) system serves as the key linkage that interfaces CAD and CAM. In this research, a CAPP system, namely, RD-CAPP was developed using the variant process planning approach. This system is used to generate process plans automatically. The RD-CAPP system developed during this research uses group technology (GT) concepts and a relational data model. The application of the relational database management system and GT provides various advantages such as ease of information management, ease of modification and updating of information stored, ease of interlinking of various databases, etc. The effectiveness of the system described has been verified through the use of industrial data. The results of the study along with the development of various modules and the computer programs are discussed in this thesis. |
