What the data for this category looks like
This category serves cabinet, ventilation equipment, electrical enclosure, and custom equipment manufacturers. Daily documents include unfolding drawings, CNC cutting programs, bending process cards, nesting diagrams, first-piece records, and process flow cards. Data comes primarily from CAD/CAM software, order BOMs, sheet metal inventory systems, laser cutters, bending machines, and MES systems. Update frequency adjusts based on orders, daily operations, or each equipment changeover. The business uses multi-variety, small-batch production primarily. Workflows rely heavily on drawing-driven processes. Key links include 3D part unfolding compensation, nesting scrap management, and bending sequence verification.
What constraints these characteristics impose on knowledge base retrieval and recall
The multi-variety, small-batch business model generates large volumes of frequently updated specialized documents. Retrieval and recall must quickly match the latest cutting programs and bending process cards. The drawing-driven workflow means retrieval must cover specialized fields such as drawing numbers, bending coefficients, and sheet metal specifications. This avoids generic, irrelevant matches. Real-time data from equipment and MES systems requires retrieval results to be timely, synchronized with production workflows, and not lag behind equipment changeover rhythms. The specialized nature of key production links requires recall results to accurately associate details such as unfolding compensation parameters and nesting rules. Failure to do so will directly cause production issues such as hole misalignment or sheet material waste.
How to configure settings
The following configurations are optimized for knowledge base retrieval and recall in the sheet metal cutting and bending scenario, based on FastGPT v4.17.0.
| Configuration Item | Recommended Setting | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
similarity | 0.75-0.82 | Sheet metal has many specialized terms. This threshold filters low-match irrelevant documents and avoids recalling incorrect bending coefficients or unfolding parameters. |
limit | Top 10 results | This category has a moderate number of documents linked to each order. Limiting result count controls context length to avoid exceeding model processing limits. |
usingReRank | Enabled | Performs secondary ranking on initial recall results. This prioritizes documents strongly related to bending compensation and nesting rules. |
searchMode | mixedRecall | Matches both the semantics of specialized parameters and keywords such as drawing numbers and sheet metal specifications. This adapts to multi-type document retrieval. |
datasetSearchUsingExtensionQuery | Enabled | Adds extended retrieval linked to order BOMs and sheet metal inventory. This covers all business data required for supplier audits. |
collectionIds | Specify dedicated dataset ID for sheet metal cutting and bending | Isolates knowledge base content from other categories. This ensures recall results only originate from documents in this targeted scenario. |
Three common configuration mistakes
- Symptom: When asked to repeat the content of an uploaded XLSX file from the knowledge base during a conversation, the system returns that it cannot read the file. Cause:
datasetSearchUsingExtensionQueryis not enabled, or the unstructured document parsing module is not configured correctly. This prevents reading of cutting parameters and sheet metal inventory data within tables. - Symptom: Retrieval results include documents from other categories such as stamping and casting. Cause:
collectionIdsis not specified, leading to cross-dataset retrieval and introduction of irrelevant knowledge base content. - Symptom: Recalled bending process card parameters deviate significantly from actual production requirements. Cause: The
similaritythreshold is set too low, recalling low-match outdated process cards or parameter documents for non-corresponding sheet metal specifications.
How to verify successful configuration
- Upload a test sheet metal cutting XLSX file containing sheet metal specifications, bending coefficients, nesting rules, and other relevant content. Submit a retrieval request to confirm the system can correctly read the field content within the file.
- Enter a specialized query such as "1.5mm cold-rolled steel sheet bending compensation value". Check the source of the recall results to confirm they only come from the specified sheet metal cutting and bending dataset.
- Review the number of retrieval results to confirm it does not exceed the quantity set by the
limitconfiguration, and that result ranking aligns with professional relevance requirements. - Simulate a supplier audit scenario by entering "Is the bending sequence of a certain batch of first-piece records correct". Confirm that the recalled first-piece records and process flow cards match business logic.
The values provided here are common starting points and should be measured against the reader's own samples.