Artificial intelligence-based setup planning expert system for 3-axis and 4-axis machining for Industry 4.0

Abstract Industry 4.0 has transformed manufacturing processes to be more reliant on computers. In this Industry 4.0 era, there is a growing demand for increased automation and digitization. Due to intense competition within the manufacturing sector and the ever-changing customer market, companies are compelled to adopt the principles of Industry 4.0 in their operations. In this paper, an artificial intelligence-based setup planning system is developed to generate minimum number of setups of prismatic parts to produce on 3-axis and 4-axis milling machines. The CAD of the prismatic part is given as input to IMPlanner (Intelligent Manufacturing Planner) system to map the features and generate alternate processes. The Rule Based-Setup Planning system (RB-SPS Expert System) uses the input from IMPlanner to automatically generate minimum number of setups for 3-axis and 4-axis milling machines, which supports industry 4.0. The important constraints - feature precedence and tolerance relations have been considered to create setup plan. The case studies are presented to demonstrate the capabilities and integration between the various modules of the system.