Abstract:
This paper identifies the need for a verification methodology for manufacturing
knowledge in design support systems; and proposes a suitable methodology based
on the concept of ontological commitment and the PSL ontology (ISO/CD18629). The
use of the verification procedures within an overall system development
methodology is examined, and an understanding of how various categories of
manufacturing knowledge (typical to design support systems) map onto the PSL
ontology is developed. This work is also supported by case study material from
industrial situations, including: the casting and machining of metallic
components. The PSL ontology was found to support the verification of most
categories of manufacturing knowledge, and was shown to be particularly suited
to process planning representations. Additional concepts and verification
procedures were however needed to verify relationships between products and
manufacturing processes. Suitable representational concepts and verification
procedures were therefore developed, and integrated into the proposed knowledge
verification methodology.
