ABSTRACT
Set-up planning is the task of organizing and determining a sequence necessary to make the features in certain workpiece orientations. It is a pivotal step in automated process planning as it greatly influences machine and tool selections, machining sequences, and fixture configurations. This paper reviews the methodologies and techniques in the development of computer-aided set-up planning systems. It examines the status of, and suggests some future directions for, research efforts in computer-aided set-up planning—an area that is of premier importance in integrated manufacturing planning. Most of the published papers have implemented set-up planning from either one of the following micro-viewpoints: the machining or the fixturing viewpoint. This paper examines these two different viewpoints of set-up planning and discusses the merits and limitations of the work done in these areas. The set-up planning problem is analysed at two levels: the machine and the component levels, to determine the essential factors and constraints in set-up planning. Recent work in computer-aided set-up planning has attempted to simultaneously adopt these two views, and to achieve the integration with design evaluations and shop 5-2floor control systems. This paper presents these recent developments and discusses a few open issues in set-up planning.
