Modeling of manufacturing processes using object oriented extended Petri nets and advanced knowledge representations

The paper describes a methodology for decision support for manufacturing process planning. Object oriented Petri net modeling and rule based problem solving are combined. The development of manufacturing process modeling is urged by the growing acceptance of the product model concept and a definite demand for decision support in commercial CAD/CAM systems. The paper is organized as follows. First, the problem of process modeling is explained. Then the proposed process model is outlined. Following this the most important objects and their relations are described. Finally representation of knowledge and evaluation of the models during interactive manufacturing process planning are outlined. The problems that can be solved using the proposed methodology are concluded.