Development of case-based database for high speed machining

摘要

High-speed machining (HSM) has been widely recognized as one of the key processes in manufacturing industries in recent years. However, HSM is still not as familiar as conventional machining in shop floor, which may be caused by the fact that there are insufficient high-speed cutting parameters in machining data handbooks to be selected. A case-based intelligent database for HSM is developed in the presented study. The machining database comprises of three major modules, the user interface, the machining database and the case-base. The machining database stores the cutting parameters for each pair of cutting tool and workpiece material and other relative data, while the case base stores the successful whole solution for HSM operations. The case description and case retrieval methods are presented. The most similar case to the new workpiece can be retrieved from the case base. The retrieved case is then evaluated and modified with a rule-based system. After verification, the new workpiece and its proposed solution of machining conditions are packed up into a new case, and are stored in the case base for future applications. With case-based reasoning strategy, the cutting parameters can be properly selected on the basis of previously successful HSM operations, which is helpful to push the wide applications of HSM forward to shop floor.