# Presentation: 542889

## Open Architecture Controls:The Key to Interoperability

**John M. Evans**
- Chief, Intelligent Systems Division
- Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory
- National Institute of Standards and Technology

- Intelligent Systems Division
- Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory

## Interoperability Costs

- Installed robot systems cost 3 to 5 times the amount of the robot
- Software integration costs are at least 25% of total; much of that cost could be avoided with appropriate standards
- Aerospace manufacturing cell with $10M in capital equipment takes 100 person-years to integrate

**NIST  •  Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory  •  Intelligent Systems Division**

## Interoperability

**User’s Perspectives:****Seamless data flow, plug & play**
**	****	****         ****Heterogeneous environment**
**Vendor’s Perspectives:   ****External interfaces**
**	****	****        ****	****     ****Market control**
**Third Party Perspectives:****Modular commonality**
**	****	****	****	****     ****Clean interfaces**
**Interfaces exist within an architecture**

**NIST  •  Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory  •  Intelligent Systems Division**

## NIST Intelligent Open Architecture Controls Program

- GOAL: To provide measurements and standards needed to support a competitive market in intelligent control technology for the discrete parts manufacturing sector.
- Performance measures
- Architectures and interface standards
- Validation and conformance tests

**NIST  •  Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory  •  Intelligent Systems Division**

## User Groups Are Driving Toward Standardization

- Three key industry segments: machine tools, robotics, measurement equipment
- Open Modular Architecture
-     Controller (OMAC) for machine tools
- Robotic Industries Association(RIA) for robotics
- Metrology Automation Association(MAA) for measurement equipment
- Common theme: bring users and vendors together to work toward standardization

**NIST  •  Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory  •  Intelligent Systems Division**

## NIST’s Roles: Testing and Validation

- We participate in standards projects, e.g., STEP/NC for machine tool programming, DMIS and AP219 for inspection, AWS A9, and RIA R15
- We set up testbeds to prove out standards
- We develop test suites that enable users and vendors to verify compliance to specifications
- Program information, workshop proceedings, and links to further information can be found at:
- www.isd.mel.nist.gov/projects/openarch

**NIST  •  Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory  •  Intelligent Systems Division**

## NIST OAC Testbeds

- Existing
- Parallel kinematic machine tool
- Enhanced machine control (NGC, TEAM, OMAC)
- Welding cell interoperability (with AWS)
- Planned
- Metrology Automation (with MAA)
- Single Axis OMAC (with OMAC)
- STEP/NC (with ISO, Step Tools, OMAC,...)

**NIST  •  Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory  •  Intelligent Systems Division**

## Open Architecture Controlsfor Industrial Robots

- 1999 Robotics Industry Forum
- February workshop, Orlando
- June workshop, Ypsilanti
- November workshop (postponed)

**NIST  •  Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory  •  Intelligent Systems Division**

## Vendor Position

- OMAC Component-based software architecture does not make sense for industrial robots
- Open Architecture for industrial robots means interoperability

**NIST  •  Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory  •  Intelligent Systems Division**

## Vendor Position

- PC augmented architecture
- External interfaces that are valid subjects for standardization:
- Factory Data Network interface
- Peripheral interfaces
- Graphical Display Interface

**NIST  •  Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory  •  Intelligent Systems Division**

## Target Interfaces

**OLP/**
**Simulation**

**CAD**

**PC**

**Graphical **
**Display**

**Ethernet**
- Factory Data Network

**Controller**

**Robot**

**Peripheral**
**Equipment**

**Target Interfaces**

## Factory Data Networks

- GM has up to 6 or 7 different networks
- Three level data networks:
- Ethernet
- Controlnet
- Devicenet
- Moving to two
- Switched ethernet
- Devicenet

**NIST  •  Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory  •  Intelligent Systems Division**

## Switched Ethernet

**NIST  •  Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory  •  Intelligent Systems Division**

## Ethernet/IP

**O  P  E  N**

**Transport**

**Network**

**Link**

**Physical**

**Ethernet**
**MAC**

**Ethernet**
**Physical**

**IP**

**TCP**

**CIP**Control and Information Protocol

**Protocol Used by **
**DeviceNet, **
**ControlNet and **
**now EtherNet / IP**

**IEEE 802.3**

**TCP/IP Suite**

**UDP**

**IP-Multicast**

**Control and Information Protocol (CIP)  -                        An Object Orientated Application Layer Protocol**

**Application**

**Presentation**

**Session**

**Notes:**
An Ethernet product may implement both protocols (i.e., a “dual stack” implementation).  Implementing both will provide ControlLogix compatibility and backward compatibility with CSP-compliant processors.

## GM “First Wave” Proposal for Robot Interface Standards

-  Leverage the Existence and Volumes of Marketplace Technology Standards

**NIST  •  Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory  •  Intelligent Systems Division**

## Action Plan

**NIST  •  Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory  •  Intelligent Systems Division**

** ****Gather potential standards**
** ****Collect field experience**
** ****Prioritize**
** ****Develop implementation plans**
** ****Launch testing**

## Future

**NIST  •  Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory  •  Intelligent Systems Division**

-  Peripheral Interface Standards
-  Graphical Display Interface Standards