AND SOFTWARE . THIS WORK SHOULD BE TIGHTLY COUPLED TO PROJECT 5.1.1 , PARTICULARLY THE " SYSTEM STRUCTURE " AND THE " DESIGN RULES " TOPICS ;
- THE CONSEQUENT CAM DEFINITION SHOULD INCLUDE SUCH GENERIC ACTIVITIES AS PLANNING , SCHEDULING , MACHINE PROGRAMMING , TOOL DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT , FLOW CONTROL , MONITORING , DATA COLLECTION , MATERIALS HANDLING , WAREHOUSING , INVENTORY CONTROL , TESTING , REPAIR , QUALITY CONTROL , DOCUMENTATION AND COSTING ;
- THE PRIMARY ACTIVITY FOR YEAR 1 IS THE FULL DEFINITION OF SUBSEQUENT STAGES OF THE CIM R AND D WORKPLAN ;
- IDENTIFY SUITABLE TEST-BED ENVIRONMENT .
YEARS 2 TO 4 :
- DEVELOP SELECTED CAM SUBSYSTEMS WITH AN EMPHASIS ON HIGH-INTEGRITY REAL-TIME OPERATION , AND INTEGRATION IN TEST-BED ENVIRONMENT .
YEAR 5 :
- CONDUCT COMPREHENSIVE TESTS OF THE OVERALL INTEGRATED CIM SYSTEM ( S ) USING SOFTWARE DEVELOPED IN YEARS 2 TO 4 .
INTERMEDIATE OBJECTIVES
12TH MONTH
- DEFINITION OF CAM SUBSYSTEMS ;
- RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SYBSYSTEM TOOL DEVELOPMENT ( WITH EMPHASIS ON REAL-TIME OPERATION ) ;
- DEFINITION OF DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN .
24TH MONTH
- PHASE 1 SUBSYSTEM/TOOLS READY FOR INTEGRATION AND TESTING .
48TH MONTH
- PHASE 2 SUBSYSTEM/TOOLS READY FOR INTEGRATION AND TESTING .
60TH MONTH
- PROTOTYPE CAM SYSTEM DEMONSTRABLE IN TEST-BED APPLICATION .
R AND D AREA 5.4 :
MACHINE CONTROL SYSTEMS
DESCRIPTION
THE MAJOR PROBLEM CONFRONTING THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY SPECIALIZING IN MANUFACTURING A GREAT VARIETY OF PARTS IN LOW AND MEDIUM VOLUMES IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGHLY FLEXIBLE , HIGH PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEM . THE MAJOR TASK OF THE SUPPLIERS OF CIM EQUIPMENT IS THAT OF ENHANCING THE TECHNOLOGIES REQUIRED FOR AUTOMATION , FLEXIBILITY AND SYSTEMIZATION . ALL THESE TECHNOLOGIES ARE ESSENTIAL FACTORS IN DEVELOPING THE FLEXIBLE AND VERSATILE MANUFACTURING SYSTEM .
MACHINE CENTRES FOR AUTOMATIC MACHINING OF METAL PARTS PLUS A SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATIC LOADING AND UNLOADING AND A CONVEYOR SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATICALLY TRANSFERRING WORKPIECES FROM ONE MACHINING PROCESS TO ANOTHER , ARE AVAILABLE FROM MANY SOURCES . A PROBLEM WHICH STILL HAS TO BE ATTACKED IS THE INTEGRATION OF MACHINE CENTRES INTO OVERALL CIM SYSTEMS .
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT IS REQUIRED TO APPLY CNC MACHINES TO OTHER THAN METAL PARTS , TO DEVELOP AUTOMATED ASSEMBLY SYSTEMS AND ENHANCE THE CAPABILITY OF ROBOTS BEYOND THE SIMPLE OPERATIONS AT PRESENT CARRIED OUT .
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ARE ALSO NEEDED TO REACH TWO OF THE PRINCIPAL , AND OFTEN CONFLICTING , GOALS OF ALL FUTURE AUTOMATED PLANTS , NAMELY MAINTENANCE OF CONSISTENTLY HIGH PRODUCT QUALITY AND MAXIMUM PLANT AVAILABILITY .
R AND D TOPICS
THE R AND D TOPICS TO BE ADDRESSED IN THIS AREA ARE :
5.4.1 . FLEXIBLE MACHINING SYSTEMS
- NUMERICAL CONTROL OF MACHINES ,
- DEFINITION OF GENERAL STRUCTURE OF FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS ( FMS ) .
5.4.2 . AUTOMATED ASSEMBLY AND ROBOTICS
- AUTOMATED ASSEMBLY SYSTEMS ,
- ROBOT SYSTEMS .
5.4.3 . PLANT AVAILABILITY AND QUALITY OPTIMIZATION
- BASIC PLANT DIAGNOSIS TECHNOLOGY ,
- DIAGNOSIS FORMULATION ,