Generating alternative process plans for complex parts

Balancing the load in workshops of versatile machines can be significantly improved if parts are processed through alternative routings. The paper presents an automated process planning method that departing from the geometric part model and the description of machining resources generates a portfolio of executable process plans with the objective to maximize the throughput of a workshop. Parts may have rotational, planar and freeform surfaces. A new model is suggested for the macro planning phase where a combination of geometric reasoning and constrained combinatorial optimization generates alternative setups, resource assignments and operation sequences. The method is demonstrated in industrial setting.