Process planning determines how a product is to be manufactured and is therefore a key element in the manufacturing process. It plays a major part in determining the cost of components and affects all factory activities, company competitiveness, production planning, production efficiency and product quality. It is a crucial link between design and manufacturing. There are several levels of process planning activities. Early in product engineering and development, process planning is responsible for determining the general method of production. The selected general method of production affects the design constraints. In the last stages of design, the designer has to consider ease of manufacturing in order for it to be economic. The part design data is transferred from engineering to manufacturing and process planners develop the detailed work package for manufacturing a part. Dimensions and tolerances are determined for each stage of processing of the workpiece. Process planning determines the sequence of operations and utilization of machine tools. Cutting tools, fixtures, gauges and other accessory tooling are also specified. Feeds, speeds and other parameters of the metal cutting and forming processes are determined.

Process planning detennines how a product is to be manufactured and is therefore a key element in the manufacturing process. It plays a major part in detennining the cost of components and affects all factory activities, company competitiveness, production planning, production efficiency and product quality. It is a crucial link between design and manufacturing. In spite of the importance of process planning in the manufacturing cycle, there is no fonnal methodology which can be used, or can help to train personnel for this job. Process planning activities are predominantly labor intensive, depending on the experience and the skill and intuition of the planner, and therefore often precludes a thorough analysis and optimization of the process plan which nearly always results in higher than necessary production costs, delays, errors and non-standardization of processes. Process planning is regarded as an art and not a science. Research in the field of process planning has indicated that all experts have their own expertise and one expert's experience might be different from that of another. It is rare, therefore, for two planners to produce the same process. Each process will produce the part as specified, although different processes will result in different processing times and costs. The question is, who is an expert? By definition an expert is one 'having or manifesting the knowledge, skill and experience needed for success in a particular field or endeavor', or 'one who has acquired special skill in or knowledge and mastery of something'.

Process planning determines how a product is to be manufactured and is therefore a key element in the manufacturing process. It plays a major part in determining the cost of components and affects all factory activities, company competitiveness, production planning, production efficiency and product quality. It is a crucial link between design and manufacturing. There are several levels of process planning activities. Early in product engineering and development, process planning is responsible for determining the general method of production. The selected general method of production affects the design constraints. In the last stages of design, the designer has to consider ease of manufacturing in order for it to be economic. The part design data is transferred from engineering to manufacturing and process planners develop the detailed work package for manufacturing a part. Dimensions and tolerances are determined for each stage of processing of the workpiece. Process planning determines the sequence of operations and utilization of machine tools. Cutting tools, fixtures, gauges and other accessory tooling are also specified. Feeds, speeds and other parameters of the metal cutting and forming processes are determined.