•A feature-based part variety model is proposed.•A reconfigurable machining operation plan model is proposed.•A reconfigurable machining process plan model is proposed.•A global framework for reconfigurable process planning is proposed. Conventional machining process planning approaches are inefficient to handle the process planning complexity induced by part variety. Reconfigurable process planning is a new process planning approach which has been well recognized as a key enabler for current manufacturing paradigms. However, in the literature, there is neither a comprehensive part variety representation model to support reconfigurable process planning nor a global solution framework to instruct the generation of the feasible process plans for a specific part variant. Therefore, this paper extends the concept of reconfigurable process planning to a concept of reconfigurable machining process planning which targets the process plan generation for a part family. A solution framework is developed for reconfigurable machining process planning. In this framework, a feature-based part variety model is proposed to represent a part family; A reconfigurable machining process plan is defined as a set of modular components which can be configured/reconfigured into the machining process plans for any part variant in the family; a novel configuration approach is proposed to generate the process plan components for a specific part variant while configuring this part variant from the family. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed framework and models are tested in a real case study.