Criteria for RP expert system/selector program

From: Albert Soo (Albert@iris.iris.swin.edu.au)
Date: Tue Mar 04 1997 - 05:56:42 EET


Dear RPers
                  My name is Albert Soo, and I am a Masters student at
Swinburne University in Victoria, Australia. I am doing my masters
thesis on RP expert system/selector program. The program would
consist of asking a series of questions (eg price, part size, work
envelope volume, accuracy, surface finish, material of prototype,
build time, cost of material, running costs, depreciation costs,
end-application eg injection moulds or investment casting, etc..),
and depending on the user inputs, will narrow down the selection
to one of the available RP machine. I know every system has its
strengths and weakness. I have some difficulty trying to establish
(1) which factors/criteria are important to purchaser of RP system
(2) how to set objective factors/criteria that are common to all RP system
(3) collate current and accurate data, among the OEM claims and
    counterclaims. I am trying to keep politics out of a user-friendly
   and objective selector program.
                I would like to ask members on the mailing list, what
factors/criteria are important in making their original selection,
and to give a ranking of those factors, eg end-use application (1),
part accuracy (2), material choice (3), price of equipment (4), etc..
With the sample choice, price is not important, and RP system was
purchased for end-application (eg investment casting). Members can
contact me privately on email albert@iris.iris.swin.edu.au
                   Does any members know of any RP selector
programs other than the BIBA selector program ?.
                  Thank you.

Regards Albert Soo



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