Selection of alternative cutting tools for part features of prismatic components and their effects on operation sequence

This paper outlines an integrated system called OPTTOOL which is capable of selecting the best tool among many alternatives that can work with optimum parameters. While minimising the number of tool changes and/or tool travelling distance within a set-up as well. Tool selection procedures are directly interacted with the optimisation procedures in order to control fitness of optimised cutting parameters to the selected cutting tools simultaneously. The outstanding characteristics, stages and rules in each of the basic modules of the developed system are also discussed.