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The interrelationships that exist in the manufacturing processes associated with the surface mount manufacture of printed circuit boards (PCBs)

Process planning output can be post-processed into criteria for job scheduling decisions in printed circuit board assembly using surface-mount technology (SMT). Artificial intelligence-based techniques used in computerized planning and scheduling systems in other industries can be extended to printed circuit board operations. These techniques include blackboard architectures, objectoriented programming systems, and nonmonotonic reasoning systems. These techniques were used to demonstrate a unique architecture of blackboard systems that communicate via object-oriented messages to arrive at a shop-floor process plan and production schedule. The methodology was specialized to the assembly of printed circuit boards using surface-mounted components in a high-variety/low-volume product mix. The assembly facility was represented as a hierarchical object of product, process, and organizational knowledge. The system of working heuristics was integrated within a prototype environment with the practitioners that assisted in its development. The end result is a good working methodology for system development, implementation, and maintenance by knowledge worker involvement.

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