Process Selection

Selecting the optimum manufacturing process for any product is a key area of engineering and one whose prominence is increasing. There has been a realization in industry that it is more efficient to spend resources selecting the right approach before production begins, than striving to "fix" processes once the problem comes to light during operation. This is an introduction to the concept of process selection. It uses an approach based on the selection of candidate processes, supported by details of their characteristics, capabilities and cost considerations, before applying these candidate processes to specific components with individual properties and characteristics. A key factor is the provision of information macros on a range of important processes providing data on each standard format.