Abstract
The selection of economic cutting conditions in machining operations is becoming increasingly important in modern computer based-manufacturing. Using a generic deterministic approach, the optimization analyses, strategies and software for selecting the economic cutting conditions in drilling operations are presented based on the criteria typified by the maximum production rate (or minimum production time per hole) and incorporating a range of machine tool constraints. The deterministic optimization approach involving mathematical analyses and graphic presentation of economic characteristics provides clearly defined optimization strategies which guarantee the global optimum solution. Numerical simulation studies have verified the optimization strategies and demonstrated the economic benefits of using optimization in process planning as well as the suitability of the developed optimization strategies for on-line applications in Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM).