Material selection of tool steels for satisfying the customer’s needs is not limited to one type of steel. In fact, each customer expresses his or her needs in a specific range. On the other hand, technical specifications of tool steels are not absolute and it consistently deviates from the mean. Therefore, in this paper, fuzzy logic theory has been used for selecting appropriate tool steels. The main steps are as per followings:
1) Four technical features have been used for selecting tool steels: untreated hardness, hardness after heat treatment, maximum work temperature and toughness, and price variable.
2) Technical features and prices of tool steels manufactured in Iran were obtained from manufacturers.
3) The mean and standard deviation of some technical features were calculated.
4) Membership functions for the a.m. technical features and prices have been defined and established.
5) The tool steels were rated according to the amount of their preferences to the customers.
6) Customer’s desirable tool steels were determined by using fuzzy logic theory. Finally, the appropriate tool steels were selected for customers.
This paper, in addition to formulate the tool steel selection, provides the possibility of reducing a variety of tool steels for manufacturers. The associated results lead to the decrease in the total cost of tool steels for the manufacturer.
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