Abstract
On June 17-18, 1993, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) sponsored an information-gathering workshop focused on identifying the principal challenges and opportunities in manufacturing process planning from the perspective of today''s discrete parts manufactures. There were a total of twenty-three attendees at the workshop, with six attendees representing software/system vendors, fourteen representing manufacture/contractors, and three from government organizations. Additional NIST employees also attended the workshop.
The workshop focused on three major themes related to process: functionality of process planning systems, the integration of these systems into the larger manufacturing system environment, and the obstacles to and opportunities for the introduction of new technologies for process planning.