In this work, we describe an approach to automated
manufacturing feature extraction and operations
planning that combines the two processes to benefit
both. When viewed in planning terms, if feature extraction
is the process of identifying planning goals, and operations
planning is the the process of selecting and sequencing
planning operators, then what we are doing can be viewed
as combining the normally separate processes of finding
goals and developing instantiated operators to satisfy
them. Thus, we call this approach Ebgoc (Effector-Based
Goal and Operator Construction), and we have implemented
it in a computer program called Mediator. Effectors
are the physical equipment, such as tools and machines,
that are used to transform the initial materials into the
desired end product (goal). We say that this approach is
effector-based (rather than feature-based) because
we do not recognize a fixed set of features, but instead
we geometrically derive the set of shapes that can be machined
with the currently available set of effectors. Thus, each
shop can customize Mediator so that it identifies
machinable volumes appropriate for the resource in that
specific shop. This approach gives Mediator several
important properties. It can 1) effectively handle feature
interactions (e.g., volumetric intersections), 2) be customized
to produce features appropriate to specific shop resources,
3) identify areas that the current resources cannot machine,
and 4) handle nonstandard, user-defined tooling.