Manufacturing information estimation apparatus and manufacturing information estimation method

Abstract

To accurately estimate manufacturing information for a new design by utilizing existing design information.SOLUTION: A manufacturing information estimation apparatus comprises: a design and manufacturing related information storage unit for registering CAD model data, in which product shape data and manufacturing attribute data are recorded, and manufacturing process data, in which manufacturing process information thereof is recorded, as design and manufacturing related information for each part; a similarity calculation unit for calculating similarities between a plurality of pieces of partial data of design CAD model data to be subjected to manufacturing information estimation and registered partial CAD model data, and calculating a partial similarity from both similarities of shape information and manufacturing attribute information; a similar partial search unit for searching for the partial CAD model data having the partial similarity equal to or greater than a threshold; a corresponding process information extraction unit for extracting the manufacturing process information corresponding to the similar partial CAD model data as corresponding process information; and a manufacturing process information generating unit for combining the corresponding process information to generate estimated manufacturing process information corresponding to the design CAD model data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1B

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technology for improving the efficiency of defining and creating M-BOM (Manufacturing Bill of Material) and BOP (Bill of Process) in product design and manufacturing, and more particularly to a manufacturing information estimation device and manufacturing information estimation method for estimating M-BOM and BOP from CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. [Background technology]

[0002] Evaluating the manufacturability (ease of manufacturing), manufacturing costs, and environmental friendliness of product design proposals in advance is effective in achieving the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). For this reason, M-BOM and BOP information are required.

[0003] The M-BOM includes elements that are not included in the design information, such as materials, molds, jigs, and lubricants, and the BOP includes information such as manufacturing procedures. However, creating M-BOM / BOP information (hereafter referred to as manufacturing information) takes time and effort, so it is not necessarily easy to create and consider the above manufacturing information for each of multiple design proposals.

[0004] Therefore, efforts have been reported to reduce the burden by reusing manufacturing information of past products in new products in reuse design.

[0005] Conventionally, an invention of this type is disclosed in Patent Document 1. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-254269 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] According to Patent Document 1, this technology efficiently extracts subassemblies that are similar to a newly designed subassembly from among previously designed subassemblies, making it possible to reuse information about the manufacturing processes of past assemblies for the newly designed assembly, thereby making it easy and efficient to manage the design and manufacturing of assemblies.

[0008] However, in order to evaluate manufacturability, manufacturing costs, and environmental friendliness in advance, it is necessary to take into consideration manufacturing information of the object to be designed in advance, but this is not taken into consideration in Patent Document 1.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has an object to accurately estimate manufacturing information for a newly designed product by utilizing existing design information. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to solve the above problems, the manufacturing information estimation device of the present invention has a design and manufacturing related information storage unit in which CAD model data, in which product shape data and manufacturing attribute data are recorded, and manufacturing process data, in which manufacturing process information of the CAD model data is recorded, are registered as design and manufacturing related information for each part that constitutes the product; a similarity calculation unit that extracts a plurality of partial design CAD model data for design CAD model data to be the target of manufacturing information estimation, calculates a similarity in shape information and a similarity in manufacturing attribute information for each of the partial CAD model data registered in the design and manufacturing related information storage unit, and calculates a partial similarity from the similarity in shape information and the similarity in manufacturing attribute information; a similar part search unit that searches for partial CAD model data having a partial similarity equal to or greater than a threshold, as similar partial CAD model data; a corresponding process information extraction unit that extracts manufacturing process information corresponding to the similar partial CAD model data as corresponding process information; and a manufacturing process information generation unit that combines the corresponding process information to generate estimated manufacturing process information corresponding to the design CAD model data. Effect of the Invention

[0011] For a new design, by searching existing design information for parts with similar partial shapes and manufacturing information, it is possible to estimate manufacturing information corresponding to the entire new design information.

[0012] Problems, configurations and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment of the invention. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1A] 1 is an example of an overall configuration diagram of a manufacturing information estimation device. [Figure 1B] FIG. 2 is an example of a functional block diagram of a manufacturing information estimation device. [Figure 1C] 1 is an example of a process flowchart of a manufacturing information estimation device. [Figure 2A] 1 is an example of a CAD model registered in a design and manufacturing related information DB. [Figure 2B] 1 is an example of a design and manufacturing related information DB. [Diagram 3] This is an example of a target design CAD model. [Figure 4] 13 is an example of a processing result of a similar part search unit. [Diagram 5] 13 is an example of a processing result of a corresponding process information extraction unit. [Figure 6] 13 is an example of an estimated manufacturing process information DB as a processing result of a manufacturing process information generating unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] An example of a manufacturing information estimation device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The embodiment is an example for explaining the present invention, and appropriate omissions and simplifications are made for clarity of explanation. The present invention can be embodied in various other forms. Unless otherwise specified, each component may be singular or plural.

[0015] In order to facilitate understanding of the invention, the position, size, shape, range, etc. of each component shown in the drawings may not represent the actual position, size, shape, range, etc. Therefore, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the position, size, shape, range, etc. disclosed in the drawings.

[0016] As examples of various information, the various information may be described using expressions such as "table" and "list", but the various information may be expressed using data structures other than these. For example, various information such as "XX table" and "XX list" may be expressed as "XX information". When describing identification information, expressions such as "identification information", "identifier", "name", "ID", and "number" are used, but these are mutually interchangeable.

[0017] When there are multiple components having the same or similar functions, they may be described by using the same reference numerals with different subscripts, or when there is no need to distinguish between these multiple components, the subscripts may be omitted.

[0018] In the embodiments, a process performed by executing a program may be described. Here, a computer executes the program using a processor (e.g., CPU, GPU), and performs the process defined by the program while using a storage resource (e.g., memory) and an interface device (e.g., communication port), etc. Therefore, the subject of the process performed by executing the program may be the processor. Similarly, the subject of the process performed by executing the program may be a controller, device, system, computer, or node having a processor. The subject of the process performed by executing the program may be a calculation unit, and may include a dedicated circuit that performs specific processing. Here, the dedicated circuit is, for example, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device), etc.

[0019] The program may be installed in the computer from a program source. The program source may be, for example, a program distribution server or a computer-readable storage medium. When the program source is a program distribution server, the program distribution server may include a processor and a storage resource that stores the program to be distributed, and the processor of the program distribution server may distribute the program to be distributed to other computers. In addition, in the embodiment, two or more programs may be realized as one program, and one program may be realized as two or more programs. EXAMPLES

[0020] FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a manufacturing information estimation device 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, which is realized by a general computer and includes a central processing unit (CPU) 101 that performs calculation processing, an input device 102 such as a keyboard or a mouse, an output device 103 such as a display device, a main memory device 110, and an auxiliary memory device 120.

[0021] The main memory device 110 includes a design and manufacturing related information registration unit 111, a similarity calculation unit 112, a similar part search unit 113, a corresponding process information extraction unit 114, and a manufacturing process information generation unit 115, which are all programs. Hereinafter, when the subject is described as "XX unit", it means that the central control device 101 reads each program from the main memory device 110 and realizes the function of each program (described in detail later) on the main memory device.

[0022] The auxiliary storage device 120 includes a design and manufacturing related information database (DB) 121 and an estimated manufacturing process information DB 122. These may be provided outside the manufacturing information estimation device 100.

[0023] Next, details of each unit and processing operation of the manufacturing information estimation apparatus 100 in this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1B. Fig. 1B shows the flow of data and processing in each unit with arrows.

[0024] The design and manufacturing related information registration unit 111 registers CAD model data 151, in which shape data and manufacturing attribute data of past products (here, "products" also include "parts" that constitute a product; the same applies hereinafter), and manufacturing process data 152, in which manufacturing process information of the CAD model data 151 is recorded, in the design and manufacturing related information DB 121.

[0025] The CAD model data 151 is made up of a plurality of partial data that make up one entire past product, and these are registered in the design and manufacturing related information DB 121 so that they can be searched and accessed individually as "partial CAD model-1" to "partial CAD model-n" (121A). Similarly, the manufacturing process information is registered as "manufacturing process-1" to "manufacturing process-n" (121B) corresponding to "partial CAD model-1" to "partial CAD model-n" (121A).

[0026] In addition, since a CAD model of an entire product may be a part of another product, the entire product is also registered as a type of partial CAD model (hereinafter, a "part" of a product includes the "whole" of the product). Also, depending on the situation, it is not always necessary to register all parts.

[0027] Here, methods of expressing shape data include, but are not limited to, B-Reps expression, spatial lattice model expression, etc. Furthermore, manufacturing attribute data is attribute information that is not expressed as a shape but is necessary during manufacturing, and is information related to dimensional tolerances, geometric tolerances, surface roughness, surface treatments (plating, painting, etc.), welding instructions, and other processing instructions.

[0028] Generally, this shape data and manufacturing attribute data are managed as CAD model data. In particular, manufacturing attribute data is managed together with the CAD model in a format such as 3DA (3D Annotated model) or MBD (Model Based Definition).

[0029] The manufacturing process data 152 is data in which the type of manufacturing process and associated information are recorded. For example, in the case of a process of drilling a countersink, the type is assigned as "countersink drilling process." If necessary, the drill diameter, feed speed, jig name, and the like may be added as associated information.

[0030] These registration processes are performed each time a past product is designed and its design information and manufacturing information are generated, and information on a plurality of past products is accumulated and constructed as a database of design and manufacturing related information. The registration process may be performed by a user using the input device 102, or may be automatically performed via a communication line from an external device (not shown).

[0031] The similarity calculation unit 112 extracts multiple partial CAD model data that constitute the target design CAD model data 161, which is the CAD model data of the product for which manufacturing information is to be estimated, calculates the similarity in terms of shape information and manufacturing attribute information for each partial CAD model of the partial CAD model group 121A registered in the design and manufacturing related information DB121, and calculates partial similarity from the shape information similarity and manufacturing attribute information similarity.

[0032] The similarity of shape information can be calculated by known techniques, such as calculating the similarity using the area, perimeter, type of face, curvature, and main direction length as geometric features and the connection relationship of faces as topological features (Prior literature: Makoto Onodera et al., "Development of an analysis model reuse type automatic mesh generation technology using similar part shape search," Transactions of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, Vol. 83, No. 853, 2017). In addition, there is a method of expressing the target shape in a voxel structure, defining a block with several adjacent voxels, calculating the spectrum for each block, and calculating the similarity, but this is not limited to the above.

[0033] The manufacturing attribute information similarity Sm is calculated, for example, by Equation 1.

[0034]

number

[0035] Here, Pi is an attribute parameter (tolerance value or surface roughness) in the target design CAD model data 161, and Pj is an attribute parameter in the partial CAD model group 121A.

[0036] Equation 1 normalizes the difference in attribute parameter values ​​(tolerance value, surface roughness, weld depth, etc.) if the two have the same attribute type (attribute type such as dimensional tolerance, surface finish, welding instructions, etc.), and the closer the value is to "1.0," the more similar the values ​​are.

[0037] In addition, if the attribute types of both are different, the manufacturing attribute information similarity is set to "0.0", but if the meanings of the attribute types are similar, it may be added as a separate calculation formula. For example, the geometric tolerances specified for surface finish and planes are almost synonymous. In this case, the attribute types are considered to be the same, and the manufacturing attribute information similarity may be quantified from the difference between the tolerance value and surface roughness.

[0038] The partial similarity S is calculated from the calculated shape information similarity and manufacturing attribute information similarity. The partial similarity is calculated, for example, by Equation 2.

[0039]

number

[0040] Here, ws is the weight of the shape similarity, Ss is the shape similarity, wm is the weight of the manufacturing attribute information similarity, and Sm is the manufacturing attribute information similarity, which have a relationship of "ws+wm=1.0".

[0041] The similar part search unit 113 searches for partial CAD models whose calculated partial similarity is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, and records the similar partial CAD model data 162 in a temporary storage area (not shown) of the main storage device 110. At this time, if a plurality of partial CAD models equal to or greater than the threshold are searched for, the one with the highest similarity may be selected, or all partial CAD models equal to or greater than the threshold may be displayed on the output device 103 along with their shape information and manufacturing attribute information to allow the user to select one. Also, even if no partial CAD models equal to or greater than the threshold are searched for, the user may be allowed to select a partial CAD model equal to or greater than a predetermined similarity.

[0042] The threshold value may be set to a predetermined value in advance, or may be interactively set by the user via a user interface using the input device 102 and the output device 103. Furthermore, two types of threshold values ​​may be set, one for the shape similarity and the other for the manufacturing attribute information similarity.

[0043] In this way, the user can select an appropriate partial CAD model depending on the search situation, and can adjust the threshold value, so that even if the threshold value set in advance is not appropriate (for example, if it is set too strict or vice versa), a valid partial CAD model can be extracted.

[0044] The corresponding process information extraction unit 114 extracts manufacturing process information corresponding to the similar part CAD model data 162 searched for by the similar part search unit 113 from the partial manufacturing process information group 121B of the design and manufacturing related information DB 121, and records it as the corresponding process information 163 in a temporary storage area (not shown) or the like of the main storage device 110. Note that, as a result of the search by the similar part search unit 113, a plurality of candidates of similar part CAD model data 162 and their corresponding manufacturing process information and similarity may be displayed on the output device 103, and the user may select the manufacturing process information to be applied.

[0045] The manufacturing process information generating unit 115 combines a plurality of corresponding process information 163 to generate estimated manufacturing process information corresponding to the target design CAD model data 161, and stores the information in the estimated manufacturing process information DB 122. In addition, the generated corresponding manufacturing process information is used as source data for prediction by a manufacturing cost prediction device, a carbon dioxide emission prediction device, etc. (171).

[0046] Next, the overall process flow will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. 1C and examples of design parts shown in FIG. 2A and subsequent figures.

[0047] In step S100 of Fig. 1C, the manufacturing information estimating device 100 reads in CAD model data 151 and its manufacturing process data 152 as existing design data. The CAD model data read in here is, for example, a reducer part 200 shown in Fig. 2A, which is composed of a first disk part 203 and a second disk part 205 that sandwich a body part 204. The first disk part 203 has a plurality of holes 201 formed therein, and the second disk part 205 has a plurality of countersink parts and holes 202 connected thereto. The manufacturing process data 152 read in at the same time specifies the manufacturing process for each of these parts.

[0048] Next, in step S110, the design and manufacturing related information registration unit 111 registers the CAD model data of each part (partial CAD model data) and the manufacturing process data of the corresponding part in the design and manufacturing related information DB 121. Fig. 2B is an example showing a state in which these data are registered in the design and manufacturing related information DB 121, and for the entire reducer part 200, "casting" 200B is registered as the manufacturing process data corresponding to the overall CAD model data 200A.

[0049] Similarly, the hole 201A is designated as "drill" 201B, the countersink 202A as "countersink drill" 202B, and the flat surface 203A, for which precision finishing (arithmetic mean roughness (Ra) = 0.2) is designated as the surface finish of the first disk portion 203, are registered in the design and manufacturing related information DB 121 in association with the manufacturing process of "polishing" 203B. Similarly, "annealing" 204B and "casting" 205B are registered for the body portion 204A and the second disk portion 205A.

[0050] That is, the CAD model data indicated by 200A to 205A are registered as a partial CAD model group 121A in FIG. 1B, and the manufacturing process data indicated by 200B to 205B are registered as a manufacturing process information group 121B in FIG. 1B.

[0051] It is desirable that as much data as possible be registered in the design and manufacturing related information DB 121, because the more comprehensively the design information of related devices and parts is registered, the higher the estimation accuracy of the manufacturing information estimation apparatus 100. Therefore, it is desirable to repeatedly execute the registration process in steps S100 to S110 above until there is no unregistered data.

[0052] These registration processes may be executed in the background each time design information of another device is received through a communication line, independent of the estimation process described below, to expand the contents of the total manufacturing related information DB 121. Also, the user may use the input device 102 to additionally register usable data. In this case, the registration process in steps S100 to S110 does not need to be executed each time the estimation process described below is executed.

[0053] Next, in step S120, a design object model (target design CAD model data 161) to be estimated is read. As the design object model, the CAD model of regulator part 300 shown in Fig. 3 will be used as an example. Regulator part 300 has first disk part 302 and second disk part 303 that sandwich body part 301, first disk part 302 has a plurality of holes 304, and second disk part 303 also has a plurality of holes 305.

[0054] The first disk portion 302 has its manufacturing attribute information assigned with a surface roughness of "Ra0.2" for the outer side 302A, but not for the inner side (rear side) 302B (reference number 306). The second disk portion 303 has its manufacturing attribute information assigned with a surface roughness of "Ra0.4" for both sides (303A, 303B) (reference number 307).

[0055] Next, in step S130, for each part of the loaded design object model (regulator part 300), the similarity is calculated for each of the partial CAD model group 121A and its manufacturing process information group 121B registered in the design and manufacturing related information DB 121, and a search is made for those with a similarity equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. Here, the above-mentioned formulas 1 and 2 are used to calculate the similarity, and the explanation will be given assuming that the weight (ws) of the shape similarity and the weight (wm) of the manufacturing attribute information similarity in formula 2 are both "0.5", and the threshold of the partial similarity is "0.7".

[0056] First, the partial shapes of hole 303 and hole 304 completely match hole 201A of the partial CAD model in design and manufacturing related information DB121 shown in Fig. 2B, so the shape similarity to this is "1.0". Furthermore, no manufacturing attribute information is assigned to hole 303, hole 304, and hole 201A, so the manufacturing attribute information similarity is also "1.0" from formula 1. Therefore, the partial similarity is "1.0" from formula 2.

[0057] Next, since the partial shape of the first disk portion 302 completely matches the partial CAD model of the first disk portion 203A in the design and manufacturing related information DB 121, the shape similarity between them is "1.0." Furthermore, since the CAD model of the first disk portion 203A in the design and manufacturing related information DB 121 has the surface roughness in the surface finish specified as "Ra0.2" as the attribute information, the manufacturing attribute information similarity of the outer surface 302A of the first disk portion 302 is also "1.0", and the partial similarity is also "1.0."

[0058] On the other hand, for the inner surface 302B of the first disk portion 302, since no manufacturing attribute information is set, the manufacturing attribute information similarity is "0.2" and the partial similarity is "0.6".

[0059] Similarly, the partial shape of the second disk portion 303 completely matches the first disk portion 203A of the partial CAD model in the design and manufacturing related information DB 121, so the shape similarity between them is "1.0".

[0060] In addition, in the CAD model of the second disk portion 203A in the design and manufacturing related information DB121, the surface roughness in the surface finish is specified as “Ra0.2” as attribute information, so the manufacturing attribute information similarity of both sides (303A, 303B) of the second disk portion 303 is “0.5” and the partial similarity of both is “0.75”.

[0061] Similarly, for other parts such as body portion 301 of regulator part 300, matching with design and manufacturing related information DB 121 is carried out to calculate the similarity of related parts, but a detailed description thereof is omitted.

[0062] The partial similarity for each partial shape is summarized in Fig. 4. As described above, the partial similarity is equal to or greater than the threshold value of "0.7" for the holes 304 and 305, the outer surface 302A of the first disk portion 302, and both surfaces (303A, 303B) of the second disk portion 303. These are recorded as the search results, as similar partial CAD data 162.

[0063] Next, in step S140, manufacturing process information corresponding to each of the similar part CADs 162 is extracted from the design and manufacturing related information DB 121, and recorded as corresponding process information 163 as shown in FIG.

[0064] An example of the search result shown in Fig. 4 will be described. Manufacturing process information corresponding to the similar part CAD 108 is extracted based on the design and manufacturing related information 104 as shown in Fig. 5. This is registered as corresponding process information 163.

[0065] Then, in step S150, the manufacturing process information generating unit 115 combines each of the corresponding process information 163 to generate the estimated manufacturing process information 122 corresponding to the regulator part 300 which is the target design CAD model data 161.

[0066] FIG. 6 shows one example, in which the process for hole portions 304 and 305 is registered as “drilling,” the process for outer surface 302A of disk portion 302 is registered as “polishing” and “surface finish: Ra0.2,” and the process for both surfaces (303A, 303B) of second disk portion 303 is registered as “polishing” and “surface finish: Ra0.4,” in the estimated manufacturing process information DB122.

[0067] Although no estimated manufacturing process information has been obtained for the body portion 301 or the inner surface 302B of the disk portion 302, the user may add such missing manufacturing process information using the input device 102 or the like.

[0068] In addition, the outer surface 302A of the disk portion 302 and both surfaces (303A, 303B) of the disk portion 303 are both assigned a polishing process, but since the specified surface roughnesses are different, it is expected that different abrasives will be used for the two.

[0069] In this case, the user can specify or edit the abrasives to be used by both parties based on past experience, etc. In this way, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the estimation. Also, by registering in advance in the design and manufacturing related information DB 121 the abrasives to be used according to the level of surface finish, it is possible to reduce the number of items to be specified or edited by the user.

[0070] As described above, according to this embodiment, by searching for parts of a newly designed object that have similar partial shapes and manufacturing information from existing design information, it is possible to estimate manufacturing information that corresponds to the entire new design information. [Explanation of symbols]

[0071] 100: Manufacturing information estimation device 101: Central control unit 102: Input device 103: Output device 110: Main memory 111: Design and Manufacturing Related Information Registration Department 112: Similarity calculation part 113: Similar part search unit 114: Corresponding process information extraction unit 115: Manufacturing process information generation department 120: Auxiliary storage device 121: Design and manufacturing related information DB 122: Estimated manufacturing process information DB

Claims

1. a design and manufacturing related information storage unit in which CAD model data, in which product shape data and manufacturing attribute data are recorded, and manufacturing process data, in which manufacturing process information of the CAD model data is recorded, are registered as design and manufacturing related information for each part constituting the product; a similarity calculation unit that extracts a plurality of partial design CAD model data from design CAD model data that is a target of manufacturing information estimation, calculates a similarity in shape information and a similarity in manufacturing attribute information for each of the partial CAD model data registered in the design and manufacturing related information storage unit, and calculates a partial similarity from the similarity in shape information and the similarity in manufacturing attribute information; a similar part search unit that searches for the partial CAD model data whose partial similarity is equal to or greater than a threshold value as similar partial CAD model data; a corresponding process information extraction unit that extracts the manufacturing process information corresponding to the similar part CAD model data as corresponding process information; a manufacturing process information generating unit that combines the corresponding process information to generate estimated manufacturing process information corresponding to the design CAD model data; The manufacturing information estimation device is characterized by having:

2. The manufacturing information estimation device according to claim 1 , a design and manufacturing related information registration unit that registers the design and manufacturing related information in the design and manufacturing related information storage unit,

3. The manufacturing information estimation device according to claim 2, The manufacturing information estimating apparatus is characterized in that the design and manufacturing related information registration unit accepts registration processing by a user operating an input device, or automatic registration processing from an external device via a communication line.

4. The manufacturing information estimation device according to claim 2, The manufacturing information estimation device is characterized in that when a plurality of partial CAD model data equal to or greater than the threshold are searched for, the similar part search unit selects the one with the highest similarity, or displays the shape information and manufacturing attribute information of the partial CAD model data equal to or greater than the threshold on an output device and allows a user to select one.

5. The manufacturing information estimation device according to claim 4, The manufacturing information estimating device according to the present invention is characterized in that the threshold used in the similar part search unit includes two types of thresholds, one for the similarity in the shape information and one for the similarity in the manufacturing attribute information.

6. The manufacturing information estimation device according to claim 5, The manufacturing information estimation device, wherein the manufacturing process information generation unit is capable of accepting additional processing by a user when the estimated manufacturing process information has a missing portion.

7. registering CAD model data in which product shape data and manufacturing attribute data are recorded, and manufacturing process data in which manufacturing process information for the CAD model data is recorded, as design and manufacturing related information for each part constituting the product; A plurality of partial design CAD model data are extracted from design CAD model data to be subjected to manufacturing information estimation, and a similarity in shape information and a similarity in manufacturing attribute information are calculated for each of the partial CAD model data registered as the design and manufacturing related information, and a partial similarity is calculated from the similarity in shape information and the similarity in manufacturing attribute information; The partial CAD model data having the partial similarity equal to or greater than a threshold is searched for as similar partial CAD model data; extracting the manufacturing process information corresponding to the similar part CAD model data as corresponding process information; The corresponding process information is combined to generate estimated manufacturing process information corresponding to the design CAD model data. The manufacturing information estimation method is characterized by the above.

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