- GENERATE TOTAL SYSTEMS ARCHITECTURES THAT ALLOW USERS TO ADAPT TO COMPUTER INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS IN A PROGRESSIVE MANNER , AT THEIR OWN PACE AND FULFILLING THEIR OWN SPECIFIC NEEDS
- TO ENSURE THAT THE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME APPLIES EQUALLY WELL TO SMALL , MEDIUM-SIZED AND LARGE COMPANIES MANUFACTURING IN SMALL-BATCH AS WELL AS LARGE SCALE MASS-PRODUCTION MODES .
IN ORDER TO STIMULATE AND FACILITATE THE TRANSFER OF NEW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONCEPTS TO THE ENGINEERING INDUSTRIES WITHIN THE COMMUNITY , AND PROPERLY TO SUPPORT , UTILIZE AND DEMONSTRATE THE PROPOSED RESEARCH ACTIVITIES , IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED THAT THREE OR MORE PILOT ADVANCED CIM SYSTEMS SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED AS PART OF THE ESPRIT PROGRAMME WITHIN DESIGNATED CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE . SUCH SYSTEMS WILL PROVIDE AN IMPORTANT FOCUS FOR THE COORDINATION OF EFFORT AND THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION AMONG THE VARIOUS AND SOMETIMES DISPARATE PARTS OF THE CIM R AND D PROGRAMME . THE LACK OF SUCH FOCUS MAY WELL MEAN THAT THE EFFORT AND MONEY DEVOTED TO THE R AND D PROGRAMME IS NEEDLESSLY DISSIPATED .
R AND D AREA 5.1 :
INTEGRATED SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
DESCRIPTION
A WIDE VARIETY OF CIM SYSTEMS WILL BE IMPLEMENTED WITHIN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY . EACH SYSTEM HAS TO SERVE ITS SPECIFIC APPLICATION IN AN OPTIMUM MANNER . IN ORDER TO BE COMPETITIVE AND PRESERVE FLEXIBILITY BY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE , EFFECTIVE DESIGN METHODS FOR CIM MUST BE DEVELOPED . AT PRESENT THERE ARE NO GUIDELINES OR INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS AVAILABLE FOR THE DESIGN OF SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE FOR CIM .
NEW AND INNOVATIVE CONCEPTUAL APPROACHES ARE REQUIRED IN ORDER TO FIT APPROPRIATE SYSTEM ARCHITECTURES TO THE TOTAL MANUFACTURING PROCESS FROM INITIAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT , PRODUCT DESIGN , PRODUCTION PLANNING AND CONTROL , REAL TIME CONTROL OF PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT , MATERIALS HANDLING , THROUGH TO INVENTORY CONTROL AND SALES .
TO ENABLE THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTEGRATED SYSTEM STRUCTURES IT IS NECESSARY TO INCLUDE THE REQUIREMENTS , SPECIFICATION , AND POSSIBLY THE DEVELOPMENT OF DATA MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES . THE EFFICIENT STRUCTURING AND MANIPULATION OF THE STORED DATA IS CRITICAL TO BOTH STORAGE NEEDS AND EXECUTION SPEED .
CIM SYSTEMS REQUIRE A HIGH DEGREE OF FAULT TOLERANCE ; THEREFORE METHODS FOR ERROR DETECTION , PREDICTION , RECOVERY AND SYSTEM MAINTENANCE MUST BE DEVELOPED . COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS WILL BE REQUIRED TO OPERATE EFFICIENTLY WITHIN THE CIM ENVIRONMENT . THERE IS ALSO A NEED FOR EFFECTIVE MAN-MACHINE INTERFACES WITH GRAPHICS CAPABILITY AND A REQUIREMENT FOR A COMMAND LANGUAGE TO FACILITATE INTERACTION WITH THE SYSTEM AT ALL LEVELS .
TO ENCOURAGE THE WIDER USE OF CIM SYSTEMS BY REDUCING THE RISK OF FAILURE , FORMAL METHODS SHOULD BE DEVELOPED TO ALLOW THE REPRESENTATION , SPECIFICATION AND TESTING OF PROPOSED SYSTEMS PRIOR TO INSTALLATION .
R AND D TOPICS
TO FULFILL THESE OBJECTIVES , WORK IS PLANNED IN TWO AREA :
5.1.1 . SYSTEM ARCHITECTURES :
- DESIGN RULES ,
- SYSTEM STRUCTURE ,
- COMMAND LANGUAGES AND DATA MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ,
- FACTORY LOCAL AREA NETWORK ;
5.1.2