A Process Planning System for Machining of Dies for Auto-Body Production-Operation Planning and NC Code Post-Processing

This paper presents a process and operation planning system and an NC code post-processor for effective machining of press dies for production of cars. Based on the machining feature, major parts of press dies are categorized into 15 groups and a standard process plan is defined for each group. The standard process plan consists of a series of processes where a process is defined as a group of operations that can be done with one setup. Details such as cutting tools, cutting conditions, and tool paths are decided at the operation planning stage. At the final stage of process and operation planning, the NC code post-processor adjusts feedrates along the tool path to reduce machining time while maintaining the quality. The adjustment rule is selected based on the machining load estimated by virtual machining.