Introduction of a CAM feature model for laser beam welding

An approach to improve the quality of offline programming for laser beam welding is described. A CAD-dataset is combined with technological information using a feature model. A feature consists of the basic geometry, process parameters, a set of strategies in which way it can be processed, and rules to select the optimum strategy depending on the boundary conditions. The resulting welding task is represented by a list of features from which an NC-dataset is generated, containing all process information. The aim of the development is to design a feature based technology module which is integrated into a flexible, fault tolerant and process near planning tool.