THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING AN EXPERT DESIGN SYSTEM TO FACILITATE INNOVATION IN PRECISION METAL FORMING PROCESSES WILL BE INVESTIGATED.

THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING AN EXPERT DESIGN SYSTEM TO FACILITATE INNOVATION IN PRECISION METAL FORMING PROCESSES WILL BE INVESTIGATED. THESE PROCESSES INCLUDE COLD EXTRUSION, WARM FORGING, HOT DIE FORGING AND POWDER FORGING.METAL FORMING PROCESS TECHNOLOGY IS PRIMARILY EXPERIENCE-BASED, AND AN APPROPRIATE EXPERT SYSTEM WOULD PERPETUATE THIS KNOWLEDGE AS WELL AS MAKE IT AVAILABLE TO THOSE UNSKILLED IN THE TECHNOLOGY. MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT WOULD BE DESIRABLE THAT THE EXPERT SYSTEM FACILITATE INNOVATION IN PROCESS DEVELOPMENT FOR IMPROVED PRODUCT QUALITY, REPRODUCIBILITY AND COST EFFICIENCY. THESE ARE CRITICAL FACTORS IN MAINTAING THE VIABILITY OF OUR MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. THE KEY TO INCORPORATING INNOVATIVE APPROACHES IN EXPERT DESIGN SYSTEMS FOR METAL-FORMING IS TO UNSHACKLE THE USER FROM TRADITIONAL DESIGN RULES AND TO PROVIDE AN ANALYTICAL FACILITY FOR EXPLORATION OF NEW APPROACHES. TO THIS END, THE PROPOSED PROGRAM OBJECTIVES ARE: (1) TO DEVELOP AN INTERACTIVE CONTROL STRUCTURE THAT WILL PROVIDE MANUFACTURING ENGINEERS WITH AN EXPLORATORY DESIGN TOOL CAPABLE OF ACCESSING THE FRONTIERS OF MODERN PROCESS TECHNOLOGY. THIS INTERFACE WOULD ENABLE ONE TO CONSIDER ALTERNATIVE FORMING METHODS AND VARIATIONS, AND WOULD AID DECISION-MAKING ON THE OPTIMUM APPROACH WITHIN SPECIFIED MATERIAL AND EQUIPMENT CONSTRAINTS. (2) TO BUILD A COMPATIBLE KNOWLEDGE BASE THAT INCLUDES NOT ONLY RULES-OF-THUMB, BUT MATHEMATICAL MODELS FOR CALCULATION OF PROCESS DETAILS, AS REQUIRED. THE WORK WILL BE CARRIED OUT ON MICROCOMPUTERS SO THAT THE DEVELOPMENT CAN BE TRANSFERRED READILY TO SMALL MANUFACTURING FACILITIES WHO ARE UNABLE TO AFFORD HIGH-COST COMPUTING FACILITIES.