Implementing Design for Manufacture Rules

This paper shows a new approach in incorporating manufacturing constraints at the design stage into an intelligent system, which analyses the design features from a CAD drawing, relates them to machining feature, and then suggests the available manufacturing processes capable of producing these features. The system also examines whether design for manufacture rules are violated by the features' characteristics and conclude on their manufacturing possibility. Production type, materials, tolerances, surface finish, feature's characteristics, and accessibility are taken into consideration. R. Dumitrescu, T. Szecsi, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland.