DEVELOPMENT OF SOFT\VARE FOR EVALUATING CAPACITY BUILD - UP OF A MACHINE TOOL INDUSTRY

Abstract

In the conventional manufacturing cycle practiced for so many years in industry, engineering drawings were prepared by design draftsmen and then used by manufacturing engineers to develop the process plan. The activities involved in designing the product were separated from the activities associated with process planning. These were both time consuming and involved duplication of effort by design and manufacturing personnel. Computer - Aided Design is finding increasing use in industries today due to its productivity, quality of design, better communication, consistent quality of engineering drawings and creation of a database for design modifications. In the cause of this project, an interactive software known as CADDMT 2006 was developed using a Visual Basic Program. The database is restricted to only engineering and production department of the industry so as to reduce the complexity of the design' structure. The visual basic program developed shows the database of the standard facilities that are suppose to be in existence in a standard machine tool industry and existing facilities available in the case study Nigeria Machine Tool Limited in Osogbo. The software developed shows the database of the difference in the standard and existing facilities. The database of the operation of each section in production and manufacturing department of the industry was also developed using the software. It also links all the sections in the company and network all the department in the company thereby making it interactive. The computer-Aided Design system in database design permits automation in some certain phases of design and manufacturing. This software permits proper communication with the user (user-friendliness) having~ a common input/output language familiar to them. The software generates accurate engineering facilities data in Machine Tools Industry and gives the name quantity and technical specification of each facility. The software developed will successfully enhance the efficiency of any design and manufacturing processes. The introduction of CAD system in database design is to give fast and easy modification of design.