Research Reports from the Department of Operations
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Date
1-1-1987
Abstract
We developed in this thesis a decision support system to select the optimal rolling element bearings, hereafter referred to as the Bearing Selection Engine (BSE). The BSE considers both aspects of the specification problem: type specification and part number selection. Bearing type specification is often done by designers who, through experience or tradition, have developed a set of rules on which to base their decisions. Part number selection is the most time-consuming stage of bearing specification, but also the most mathematical. This NP-complete problem involves the search for currently manufactured sets of bearing part numbers that will meet all of the designer's requirements. The BSE was developed to free the designer from the traditional error-prone, lengthy, and incomplete methods of bearing part number selection while including, to some extent, the designer's own knowledge and judgments in the process of bearing type specification. Furthermore, the BSE avoids heuristic knowledge in its search for a suitable part number, thus assuring that the final selection is optimal. The resulting flexibility in system architecture offers the designer the ability to determine what factors the BSE should consider before making a recommendation. The domain of bearing selection problems in which the BSE will perform expertly depends solely on the extent of the bearing part number database, the proper attribution of different machine components' functional behavior, and the extent of the knowledge contained within the designers' rules of thumb.
Keywords
Operations research, Bearings (Machinery), Decision support systems, Group technology, NP-complete problems, Expert systems (Computer science)
Publication Title
Master's thesis/Technical Memorandums from the Department of Operations, School of Management, Case Western Reserve University
Issue
Technical memorandum no. 592 ; Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science.
Rights
This work is in the public domain and may be freely downloaded for personal or academic use
Recommended Citation
Strong, Stephen Robert, "A Group Technology Approach to the Bearing Selection Problem" (1987). Research Reports from the Department of Operations. 231.
https://commons.case.edu/wsom-ops-reports/231
