A machine selection module helps aPriori choose a machine that is feasible and desirable for a given process. A plastic molding machine selection module might, for example, find the machine with lowest overhead rate that is large enough to accommodate the current part and has sufficient clamp force and shot size to make the part (see the example below).

The job of the module is to select a machine and assign it to the CSL output machine.

The list of available machines for a given process is presented in aPriori’s Edit Machine Selection dialog (right click on a process in the manufacturing process pane). When the cost engine evaluates a machine selection module, it puts into scope the CSL standard input machines, and establishes as its value either a collection that contains each of these available machines or a collection that contains just the user-selected machine, depending on the machine selection mode.

aPriori has four machine selection modes (see the Edit Machine Selection dialog in aPriori):

In aP Select mode, the cost engine establishes the value of machines as a collection all available machines. If the module fails to establish a non-null value for the CSL output machine, the current process routing is deemed infeasible.

In User Select/ if not feasible, fail to cost mode, the machine selection module essentially serves to evaluate the feasibility of the user-selected machine. In this mode, the cost engine establishes the value of machines as a collection containing just the user-selected machine. If the user-selected machine is feasible, the module assigns it the CSL output machine. If the user-selected machine is not feasible, the module leaves the value of machine null. In this case, the current process routing is deemed infeasible.

In User Select/ if not feasible, auto-select mode, the machine selection module potentially serves two purposes: to evaluate the feasibility of the user-selected machine, and (if the module determines that the user-selected machine is infeasible), to select a machine from the list of all available machine. In this mode, the cost engine might evaluate the module twice. The cost engine first assigns to machines a collection containing only the user-selected machine. If the module fails to establish a non-null value for the CSL output machine, the cost engine evaluates the module again, this time assigning to machines a collection containing the full list of available machines. If the module still fails to establish a non-null value for machine, the current process routing is deemed infeasible.

In User Select/do not check feasibility mode, the cost engine does not evaluate the machine selection module.

When you navigate to the CSL modules for a node (see Navigating from the Template Graph to the Data for a Given Node), if the node has a machine selection module, the module’s Type Name field is set to machineSelectionRule and the label machineSelectionRule appears next to the folder icon.

Machine selection module names should start with msel and end with .csl.

This section includes the following subsections: