ECAPP - A Process Planning Tool Using Artificial Intelligence

The electronics computer-aided process-planning (EcAPP) system is a rule- and frame- based generative process-planning system for the assembly of electronic components onto printed circuit boards (or moduless). ECAPP uses expert process-engineering knowledge, a manufacturing plant's specific process capabilities, and product information from a computer-aided design (CAD) database to generate all the feasible process routes for a product through a factory. EcAPP then recommends the best route based on the plant's process-engineering rules and generates the numeric control code, or insertion and onsertion (onsertion refers to placing surface mount components) patterns, for the automatic assembly equipment. ECAPP also checks module ease of manufacture based on a specific plant's process characterization and allows manufacturing engineers to simulate product assembly using rule-based simulation before releasing a product to the manufacturing floor.EcAPP has been in use in Digital Equipment Corporation's Augusta, Maine, manufacturing facility since March 1989. ECAPP represents two successful transfers of technology. The first transfer was from a university research environment to the Intelligent Systems Technology Group (ISTG) at Digital, and the second was from ISTG to the ECAPP users and system maintainers in the Augusta plant.ECAPP has reduced the amount of time it takes a manufacturing engineer to introduce a new product into production from 1-2 days to 1-2 hours. Other benefits include consistent high-quality process plans, reduced machine setup times, and the automatic generation of insertion and onsertion patterns for the assembly machines. ECAPP is written in the Vax Lisp and CRL-OPS languages using the Knowledge Craft shell and runs under the VMS operating system on the VAX family of computers.