An introduction to MPL - A new machining process/Programming language

This paper introduces a language called MPL for representing machining process plans, and an experimental MPL translator called XMPL. MPL may be regarded as either an output language for automatic process planning programs, or as a high-level manual programming language for machining centers. This paper summarizes the concepts underlying the language and the facilities supported by the current processor. A typical machining plan (or program) in MPL is a sequence of setup and machining statements. Setup statements specify mainly positioning operations through stock and fixture feature-matching relations. Machining statements specify removal operations on features of the part. XMPL translates MPL programs into NC part programs and rigid motions for setup. The MPL/XMPL system requires a solid modeller (currently PADL-2) as a central utility processor, and the system's "machining versatility" is set mainly by the modeller's geometric coverage.