A decision support system for material and manufacturing process selection

The material and manufacturing process selection problem is a multi-attribute decision making problem. These decisions are made during the preliminary design stages in an environment characterized by imprecise and uncertain requirements, parameters, and relationships. Material and process selection decisions must occur before design for manufacturing can begin. This paper describes a prototype material and manufacturing process selection system called MAMPS that integrates a formal multi-attribute decision model with a relational database. The decision model enables the representation of the designer’s preferences over the decision factors. A compatibility rating between the product profile requirements and the alternatives stored in the database for each decision criteria is generated using possibility theory. The vector of compatibility ratings are aggregated into a single rating of that alternative’s compatibility. A ranked set of compatible material and manufacturing process alternatives is output by the system. This approach has advantages over existing systems that either do not have a decision module or are not integrated with a database.