Process Planning

Process Planning (definition)

Process planning maybe defined as
the determination of the processes
and the sequence of operations
required to make the product.
It consists of devising, selecting and
specifying processes, machine tools
and other equipment to transform the
raw material into finished product as
per the specifications.

Purpose of Process Planning

The purpose of process planning is to
determine and describe the best
process for each job so that:
Specific requirements are established for
which machines, tools and other
equipment can be designed or purchased.
The efforts of all engaged in
manufacturing are co-ordinated.
A guide is furnished to show the best way
to use the existing or proposed facilities.

Procedure of Process
Planning
To achieve the main economic
manufacture of the product, process
planning is done as follows:
The finished product is broken into
components of the product which forms a
basis for purchase of raw materials.
Prepare a bill of materials for all components
of the product which forms a basis for
purchase of raw materials.
Decide which parts are to be manufactured in
the plant and which parts are to be purchased
from the market depending upon the facilities
available in the plan.

Procedure for Process

Planning(cont.)
Choose the appropriate blank size and select
most economical process for manufacture
components of the product.
Decide the sequence of operations to be
performed on each component
Depending upon accuracies called for by the
drawings, determine the machine tools to do
the operations.
Determine need for special equipment like
jigs, fixtures, etc
Estimate standard time for performing job.
Determine the type of labour(skilled, semiskilled or unskilled) required for the job.

Steps involved in process

planning
Requirements and conditions of the
process
Improvements of the Specifications
List of basic operations
Determination of the most practical
and economical manufacturing method
Selection of equipment
Combine the operations and put them
in proper sequence

1. Requirements and
conditions of the process
Before any problem can be solved, its
requirements and conditions must be
defined. In process planning, these things
include
The specifications of the finished product.
The size, shape and other properties of
the raw material.
The quantity or number of pieces of the
product to be made and date of delivery

2. Improvements of the
Specifications
All specifications must be clear and
explicit.
Faulty specifications include:
Overlapping dimensions
Omitted tolerances
Indefinite notations for surface finish quality

The process engineer consults with

the product designer to clarify all
points which are not explicit.

3. List of basic operations

Under this step, the basic operations
required to satisfy the specific
surface relationships are listed.
This listing is in no particular
sequence and is merely the
recognition of the basic operations
required to manufacture the product.

4. Determine the most

practical and economical
manufacturing method

In this, step 3 is examined to

determine the most practical and
economical methods to
manufacture the product.
The best selected method is one
which can produce the part at
the lowest overall cost.

5. Selection of Equipment
Selection of equipment is closely related to
the selection of process of manufacture.
They usually represent long term capital
commitment.
The following factors are considered while
selecting the right equipment: Size and shape of the workpiece
The work material
The accuracy and surface quality required.
The quality of parts and the sizes of lots
required
Personal preferences.

6. Combine the operations and

put them in proper sequence
The purpose of this step is to
combine the basic operations which
have been already determined and
put them in the best sequence.
Operations can be combined by,
Simulation
Integration

 Simulation
Two or more elements of an operation or
two or more operations are performed at
the same time.
For example, drilling a series of holes
simultaneously using a multiple spindle
drill head.
Integration
Several individual elements of an operation
or group of operations are combined in
succession but not simultaneously, the
performance is said to be integrated.
For example, hole must be drilled before it is
tapped.

 Advantages of Combining
operations are: Improved accuracy
Reduced labor cost
Less tooling required
Less handling required
Fewer set ups
Less scrap
Fewer inspection points required

 Disadvantages of combining
operations: Maintaining tool accuracy
Possible higher tool cost
More costly set ups

Process Planning Sheet

The whole information determined by
the process planning is recorded in a
tabular form in a sheet called the
process planning sheet.
Process planning sheet is also called
as route sheet.

 Process planning sheet consists of the

following data about the components of
the product:
Name and part number of the main
product.
Name, part number, drawing number of the
component and number off per product.
Info. concering blank (material used, size
and weight of stock).
Operations listed in proper sequence
alongwith the shops in which these
operations will be performed.

 Info. regarding machines used for

each operation.
Data on jigs, fixtures and other
special tools used.
Inspection devices needed for
inspection.
Cutting data(speeds and feeds of
each operation)
Setup time, handling time and
machining time for job.

Uses of Process Sheet

It helps in advance planning and for
purchase of raw materials, design and
manufacture of special tools, jigs,
fixtures and inspection devices.
It helps in estimating the cost of the
product before it is actually
manufactured.
It helps in planning for man power
required for doing the job.

CAPP

Computer Aided Process

Planning (CAPP)
Computer-aided process
planning (CAPP) is the use of
computer technology to aid in the
process planning of a part or
product, in manufacturing. CAPP is
the link between CAD and CAM in
that it provides for the planning of
the process to be used in producing
a designed part.

Methods of Computer Aided

Process Planning
The ultimate goal of an automated
process planning system is to
integrate design and production data
into the system that generates
useable process plans.
There are two approaches: Variant Process planning
Generative Approach
Semi Generative Approach

Variant Process Planning

A Variant process planning system
uses the similarity among
components to retrieve the existing
process plans.
The variant process planning system
has two operational stages
A preparatory stage
A production stage

 During the Preparatory stage,

existing components are coded,
classified, and subsequently
grouped into families.
During the Operation stage, the
code is input to a part family
search routine to find the family
to which the component belongs,
The family number is then used
to retrieve a standard plan.

Sequences of Variable Process

Planning System
The following is the sequence of
Variable process planning system,
Family Formation
DataBase Structure Design
Search Algorithm development and
implementation
Plan Editing
Process parameter selection/updating

 Family Formation
Part family classification and
coding is based on
manufacturing features of the
part
Components requiring similar
processes are grouped into the
same family
All parts in a part family must
be related

 Database Structure Design

The database contains all the necessary
information for an application and can
be accessed by several programs for
specific application.

Plan Editing and Parameter Selection

Plan editing involves some
modification that is to be made to
the standard plan before it can
issued to the shop.
A Process plan also includes
process parameters
The parameter file can be
integrated with the variant

Generative Process Planning

Process plans are created from information
available in manufacturing data base without
human intervention.
Upon receiving the design model, the system
can generate the required operations and
operation sequences for the component.
Decision logic is employed to produce the
process plan.
Machine selection, tool selection, process
optimization, etc are automated using
generative planning techniques

Start
New/Ol
d

Component representation
module
1)Code Generation
2)Part geometry creation
(Design and manufacturing
attributes)

Forward and Backward

Planning

In generative process planning, when plans

are generated, the system must define an
initial state in order to reach the final state
(goal)
If the initial state is the raw material and the
final state is the finished product, and the
planning is done from bottom-up, it is called
forward planning
If it is done from top-down, it is called backward
planning( i.e. assuming the finished component
and going back to the unmachined workpiece.)

 Advantages of Generative Process

Planning
Component representation module
Feature extraction module
Feature process correlation module
Operation selection and sequencing
module
Machine tool selection module
Standard time/cost computation module
Report generation module

Semi-Generative Process
planning
The semi- generative approach is defined as a
combination of the generative and the variant,
where a pre-process plan is developed and
modified before the plan itself is used in a real
production environment.
This is similar to the generative approach, expect
that the final process plan and intermittent
stages of the generative process plan is
modified, or supplemented by a process planner
Modifying and process planner intervention is
small compared to the variant approach.

Manufacturing
Processes

Manufacturing process
Manufacturing processes are the steps
through which raw materials are
transformed into a product.
The manufacturing processes can be
broadly classified into three categories viz.
Shaping
Joining
Finishing

 Shaping Process
The shaping processes are
referred to those that use a
certain raw material and shape
it to a final part.
Typical examples include,
Casting
Forming
Machining

 Casting
In this process, metal is first heated in a
furnace until it melts and then the molten
metal is poured into a mold so that the
liquid metal takes the shape of the mold
cavity, which is the final shape of the part.
Once the liquid metal in the mold cavity
solidifies, the mold is broken or opened to
take the final part out of the mold cavity.
The metal casting process involves three
sequential steps: liquefying of metallic material by properly
heating it in a suitable furnace,
pouring of hot molten metal into a previously
made colder mould cavity,
extraction of the solidified cast from the mould
cavity

 Forming
This involves use of mechanical forces
like compression, tension, shear or
combined forces to produce plastic
deformation to produce the required
shapes
It is broadly classified into two types: Hot Working Involves deformation above
recrystalization temperature
Cold Working Involves deformation below
recrystalization temperature
Examples include, forging, extrusion,

sheet metal forming and wire drawing.

 Machining
Machining is a manufacturing
process that involves removal of
the material from the workpiece by
means of appropriate machine
tools to obtain the required shape.
It is carried out on an already cast
or formed workpiece.
Examples include, turning, drilling,
milling and shaping.

 Joining
It is concerned with the physical joining
of two pre-shaped parts to form a fully
functional product.
It is broadly classified into two types: Permanent joint
Non-permanent joint
Permanent joint
As the name suggests, this type of joint cannot
be removed or modified. Eg. Arc welding,
riveting, etc.
Non Permanent joint
These joints are not permanent and can be
removed or replaced at any time. Eg. Screw
and nut, turnbuckles, etc.

 Finishing
These processes are concerned with
post-processing activities like polishing,
electro-plating, heat treatment, printing,
enameling, etc
They are done to improve the surface or
physical properties(hardness, corrosion
resistance, etc) of the finished product.

Selection of primary
manufacturing process
(rough
rules)
The following design factors have a
bearing on the choice of a
manufacturing process:
Quality
Complexity of form
Nature of material
Size of part
Section thickness
Dimensional accuracy
Cost of raw material, possibility of defects
and scrap rate
Subsequent processes

 A general rule to follow while

manufacturing products may be ranked in
order of economic consideration as follows:
High quantity ( 2000 or more):

Forming
Forming
Forming
Forming
Forming

from solid by deformation

from liquid casting, molding
from joining parts
from solid by material removel
by assembly

Low quantity (upto 50):

Forming
Forming
Forming
Forming
Forming

from solid by material removal

by joining parts
from solid by deformation
by assembly
by material increase

 Medium quantities should be

analyzed separately in each case .
For a simple part, the lower quantity
should be increased to 150 pieces
and the higher quantity should be
reduced to 1000 pieces. For complex
parts, the higher quantity may be
reduced to 1500 pieces.
A more specific primary process
selection is the refined rules for
manufacturing process selection

Selecting primary
manufacturing process
(
Refined
rules)
The quantity of parts is divided into low and

high numbers. The quantity values are a

function of the shape complexity.
A code of the basic forming technique is
given below,

Code
Code
Code
Code
Code
Code

A = forming from liquid (casting , molding)

B = forming the solid from deformation
C = forming from solid by material removal
D = forming from joining parts
E = forming by assembly
F = forming by material increase

Mono
Very Complex

Open

Quantity
Quantity

Complex

Quantity

Quantity

<180> 1000

<150> 2000

<50>

1500

<100> 1000

Selecting among forming

from liquid processes
The commonly used liquid forming processes are:

Sand casting
Permanent casting
Die casting
Investment casting

Each molding method has certain inherent

advantages and limitations. Select a molding
method based on the following parameters: Part material
Size of Part
Section thickness
Dimensional accuracy
Cost of raw material, possibility of defects and

Sand

Permanent

Die

Investment

Material

All

Almost all

Light
materials

Certain alloys

Size or
Weight

Any size

Upto 25 kg

Upto 10 kg

Upto 40 kg

Section
thickness

3 5 mm
minimum

2.5 mm
minimum

0.6 mm
minimum

0.75 mm
minimum

Accuracy

+ - 1.5 mm

+ - 0.4 mm

+ - 0.05 mm + - 0.12 mm

Surface
finish (um)

6.25 25

2.5 6.25

1 2.5

0.25 - 2

Tool costs

Low

Medium

High

High

Selecting forming from solid

by deformation process
The commonly used forming processes are: G 11
G 12
G 13
G 14
G 21
G 22
G 23
G 24
die)

Rolling
Extrusion
Swaging
forging
spinning
deep drawing
Bending (brake press)
Press work (power press, with progressive

Selecting of machining
process, tools and cutting
parameters
This is closely linked with the geometry of the

finished product and quantity of parts required.

To illustrate this, let us take the following example:

 The initial job is produced by means

of sand casting
The initial job gives the approximate
dimensions that have been specified.
Machining operations are carried out
to achieve the final tolerances and
accuracies.
One should be able, by use of logical
decisions, to determine the sequence
of machining operations required to
obtain the final part.

Sequencing of operations according to

precedence relationship (anteriorities)
The operations defined above have to put in
a certain order according to precedence
relationships or anteriorities
The different categories of anteriorities are
can be classified as,
Dimensions with a datum as anteriority
Geometric tolerances with data references as
anteriorites
Technological constraints in order to execute the
sequences of operations properly
Economic constraints which reduce production
costs and wear or breakage of costly tools, etc

Anteriorities for the given

part

Examples of Process sheet

1.CNC TURNING OF GEAR BLANK

Drawing of the component

Blank

 Process Sheet for first operation

 Process sheet for second operation

2. CNC turning of a
casting