Relating Product Manufacturing Decisions to Environmental and Cost Performance Using CAPP

The objective of this paper is to find and develop methods that enhance and support the construction of process plans with possibilities to challenge cost, environmental impact and meet changing design requirements. For achieving this is primarily that both the fundamental thinking and the results behind a process plan can be described. A great deal of research effort has been committed to developing systems for computer-aided process planning (CAPP). Up till now CAPP systems have been spread over a wide front within the manufacturing industry, but rarely the system suggest the change in product design considering the manufacturing cost and its environmental impacts. The focus is laid on process planning of round parts with turning operation. A method for environment conscious process planning is proposed as a way to perform and describe the procedure of creating a process plan. The method facilitates the interpretation and understanding of the plan, not only immediately for the process planner responsible, but also for designers, engineers, researchers and other interest groups involved in a sustainable manufacturing.