Process configuration: Combining the principles of product configuration and process planning

Abstract

Product configuration is the process of generating a product variant from a previously defined product family model and additional product specifications for this variant. The process of finding and sequencing the relevant operations for manufacturing this product is called process planning. This article combines the two principles in a new concept of process configuration that solves the process planning task using product configuration methods. The second section develops characteristics for two process configuration concepts, the interactive process configuration and the automation-based process configuration. Following an overview of the implementation of a process configuration system, the results of a case study in the aluminum rolling industry are presented. The main benefits of the process configuration concept are observed in a reduced knowledge-maintenance effort and in increased problem-solving speed.