THIS PAPER ADDRESSES SOME CRITICAL MANUFACTURING ISSUES CONCERNING THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW KNOWLEDGE-BASED EXPERT SYSTEM FOR MACHINING (KBESM) AS ONE MAJOR STEP IN THE DESIGN OF INTELLIGENT AND UNMANNED MANUFACTURING CELLS. THE PAPER DESCRIBES THE STRATEGY OF HOW KBESM IS USED IN THE DESIGN PROCESS CONSIDERING IMPORTANT FACTS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF THE CELL. THIS INCLUDES OPTIMIZATION OF THE MACHINING PROCESS USING MULTIAXES FORCE SENSORS. A KNOWLEDGE-BASED SYSTEM FOR METAL CUTTING RECOMMENDS TOOLS AND WORKPIECE MATERIALS FOR FOUR DIFFERENT MACHINING GROUPS AND PROVIDES ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL INFORMATION TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THE FINAL PRODUCT.