Optimal sheet metal process planning: an agent-based approach

This paper proposes an Agent-Based Process-Planning System (ABPP-S) for sheet metal parts. The focus is placed on the investigation of the system structure, the definition of agents, cooperation between agents and system evaluation. The outcome of this research is an ABPP-S for sheet metal parts. A number of agents are defined including an unfolding agent, a feature recognition agent, a task agent, a nesting agent, a path-planning agent, a bending agent, a machining method selection agent, a machine selection agent and a fixture/jig selection agent. Inter-modules of typical agents are also built. A case study has been carried out to demonstrate the feasibility of the agent approach.