This paper presents a possible application of artificial neural network in CM system design. CM systems can be designed based on product lines, part characteristics or part routines. GT(Group Technology) which uses part characteristics to design cells is widely applied, however, the identification of the part-machine families is the fundamental problem in the design process. A heuristic procedure using SOFM which requires only part-machine incidence matrix is proposed in this research. Comparison studies on ZODIAC and ROC with SOFM model are done and the results are discussed and summarized in this paper.