Integrated Product and Process Design of Microwave Modules Using AI Planning and Integer Programming

A This paper describes the process planning techniques we developed for use in an Integrated Product and Process Design (IPPD) tool for the design and manufacture of microwave transmit/receive modules. Given a collection of data about the design of a microwave module, the IPPD tool uses a combination of AI planning and optimization-based tradeoff analysis to produce a collection of alternative designs and alternative process plans that have Pareto optimal values for manufacturing and purchasing lead time, process yield, cost, and number of suppliers. The IPPD tool provides facilities to enable the user to generate and examine these Pareto optimal alternatives in real time, in order to provide immediate feedback on how to modify the design to improve its cost and productivity.