<s>
Computer-aided	B-Application
process	I-Application
planning	I-Application
(	O
CAPP	O
)	O
is	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
computer	O
technology	O
to	O
aid	O
in	O
the	O
process	B-Application
planning	I-Application
of	O
a	O
part	O
or	O
product	O
,	O
in	O
manufacturing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CAPP	O
is	O
the	O
link	O
between	O
CAD	B-Application
and	O
CAM	O
in	O
that	O
it	O
provides	O
for	O
the	O
planning	O
of	O
the	O
process	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
producing	O
a	O
designed	O
part	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CAPP	O
is	O
a	O
link	O
between	O
the	O
CAD	B-Application
and	O
CAM	O
modules	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Process	B-Application
planning	I-Application
is	O
concerned	O
with	O
determining	O
the	O
sequence	O
of	O
individual	O
manufacturing	O
operations	O
needed	O
to	O
produce	O
a	O
given	O
part	O
or	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Process	B-Application
planning	I-Application
in	O
manufacturing	O
also	O
refers	O
to	O
the	O
planning	O
of	O
use	O
of	O
blanks	O
,	O
spare	O
parts	O
,	O
packaging	O
material	O
,	O
user	O
instructions	O
(	O
manuals	O
)	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
term	O
"	O
computer-aided	B-Application
production	I-Application
planning	I-Application
"	O
is	O
used	O
in	O
different	O
contexts	O
on	O
different	O
parts	O
of	O
the	O
production	O
process	O
;	O
to	O
some	O
extent	O
,	O
CAPP	O
overlaps	O
with	O
the	O
term	O
"	O
PIC	O
"	O
(	O
production	O
and	O
inventory	O
control	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
design	O
process	O
is	O
supported	O
by	O
many	O
computer-aided	O
tools	O
,	O
computer-aided	B-Application
process	I-Application
planning	I-Application
(	O
CAPP	O
)	O
has	O
evolved	O
to	O
simplify	O
and	O
improve	O
process	B-Application
planning	I-Application
and	O
achieve	O
more	O
effective	O
use	O
of	O
manufacturing	O
resources	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Process	B-Application
Planning	I-Application
is	O
of	O
two	O
types	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Generative	O
type	O
computer-aided	B-Application
process	I-Application
planning	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Variant	O
type	O
process	B-Application
planning	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computer-aided	B-Application
process	I-Application
planning	I-Application
initially	O
evolved	O
as	O
a	O
means	O
to	O
electronically	O
store	O
a	O
process	O
plan	O
once	O
it	O
was	O
created	O
,	O
retrieve	O
it	O
,	O
modify	O
it	O
for	O
a	O
new	O
part	O
and	O
print	O
the	O
plan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Generative	O
CAPP	O
will	O
probably	O
use	O
iterative	O
methods	O
,	O
where	O
simple	O
production	O
plans	O
are	O
applied	O
to	O
automatic	O
CAD/CAM	O
development	O
to	O
refine	O
the	O
initial	O
production	O
plan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
accomplish	O
Generative	O
CAPP	O
,	O
modifications	O
were	O
made	O
to	O
the	O
CAD	B-Application
,	O
PDM	O
,	O
ERP	O
,	O
and	O
CAM	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
a	O
Variant	O
Process	B-Application
Planning	I-Application
system	O
that	O
modifies	O
existing	O
plans	O
,	O
each	O
process	O
plan	O
could	O
be	O
defined	O
automatically	O
,	O
independent	O
of	O
past	O
routings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
factory	O
operations	O
are	O
then	O
used	O
to	O
define	O
the	O
features	O
for	O
the	O
Feature	O
Based	O
Design	O
extensions	O
that	O
are	O
incorporated	O
into	O
the	O
CAD	B-Application
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
combination	O
of	O
these	O
feature	O
extensions	O
and	O
the	O
parametric	O
data	O
associated	O
with	O
them	O
became	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
data	O
that	O
is	O
passed	O
from	O
the	O
CAD	B-Application
system	O
to	O
the	O
modified	O
PDM	O
system	O
as	O
the	O
data	O
set	O
content	O
for	O
the	O
specific	O
product	O
,	O
assembly	O
,	O
or	O
part	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
more	O
sophisticated	O
CAD/CAM	O
,	O
PDM	O
and	O
ERP	O
systems	O
have	O
the	O
base	O
work	O
already	O
incorporated	O
into	O
them	O
for	O
Generative	O
Computer	B-Application
Aided	I-Application
Process	I-Application
Planning	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
states	O
that	O
"	O
By	O
considering	O
the	O
multi-selection	O
tasks	O
simultaneously	O
,	O
a	O
specially	O
designed	O
genetic	B-Algorithm
algorithm	I-Algorithm
searches	O
through	O
the	O
entire	O
solution	O
space	O
to	O
identify	O
the	O
optimal	O
plan	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
