【正文】 ng process (es), which requires knowledge about the various alternatives available. This paper describes the process selection methodology for unconventional or advanced machining processes (AMPs), along with a preliminary selection strategy for basic type of manufacturing process. These two tasks along with parametric optimization form the core of an integrated and automated process planning system for an advanced machining environment. The process selection methodology for the AMPs is based on elimination and ranking strategy. To facilitate the process selection, AMPs have been reclassified or regrouped according to their material application capabilities, shape or manufacturing feature generating capabilities, operational capabilities, economic aspects, and environmental aspects. The described process selection methodologies for basic manufacturing process and AMPs, have been implemented in a software named as APSPOAMPS (Automated Process Selection and Parametric Optimization of AMPs).This paper also describes the proposed reclassifications of AMPs, implementation details of the developed software along with the two test examples.Evergrowing demand for better, durable, and reliable product performance has brought about a materials revolution thus greatly expanding the families of some alloys (. superalloys) and that of the nonmetallic materials namely polymers, ceramics, and posites. New materials and their different variations are being developed continuously and their applications are expanding rapidly .These materials can be engineered to have a wide variety of unique properties and characteristics like very high strength and stiffness at elevated temperatures, extreme hardness and brittleness, high strength to weight ratio, very good oxidation and corrosion resistance, chemical inertness, etc. making them mercially attractive. New products are being designed to exploit these properties, while the existing. products are being reevaluated for a possible material substitution. As design requirements of the engineering applications continue to push the limits of traditional materials, the role of engineered nonmetallic materials is continuously expanding.The materials revolution has imposed great challenges in shaping and/or machining of the new materials, most of which are manufacturing and shaping processes result in high costs and even degradation of some useful properties. These materials development related factors along with the requirements like high precision machining of plex and plicated shapes and/or sizes, machining at micro or nanolevels, machining of inaccessible areas, surface integrity, etc. have contributed signi_cantly in the development of various advanced machining processes (AMPs). Development of most of the AMPs took place after the World War II and is still continuing with the development of hybrid processes by bining two or more processes or modifying a basic AMP for specific types of the requirements.knowledge, experience, expertise, and skills related to the selection and parametric optimization of AMPs, and subsequently implementation in the form of an integrated, automated, intelligent, interactive, and rational CAPP system can be of immense help to the different users of AMPs, particularly to the midlevel manufacturing engineers working at shopfloor and lacking indepth technical expertise about AMPs. Such system can aid an engineer in making the right decisions regarding process selection and manufacturability evaluation at the design stage itself.The objective of this paper is to describe the envisaged process selection methodology for AMPs and preliminary methodology to decide about the basic type of manufacturing process. The process selection methodology for AMPs uses a bination of elimination and ranking strategy. To facilitate the process selection, all basic AMPs and different versions of some of them have been reclassified (or regrouped) according to their material applicability, shape generation capabilities, operational (finishing and machining) capabilities, process economics, and environManufacturing of any product or ponent involves not only its design, and material selection but also selection of appropriate manufacturing processes involved in obtaining the desired shape and properties of the product, which requires knowledge about all the alternative processes available, their characteristics and limitations. A systematic process selection procedure involves finding the best match between the set of input data (or design requirements) and the attributes or capabilities of the process (like material, shape, size, surface roughness, tolerance, batch size, etc.), so as to reach a conclusion or output. It should not select a particular process as final choice but should identify the subset of processes, which are capable of manufacturing the part.