Abstract
The reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS) is a new manufacturing technology and paradigm that resolves the contradictions regarding high efficiency, low cost and flexible production in the mass production of part families. Reconfigurable machine tools (RMTs) are the core components of RMSs. A new approach is proposed for the design of RMTs, which is closely related to the process planning of a given box-type part family. The concepts of the processing unit and the processing segment are presented; they are not only the basic elements of the processing plans of machined parts, but also closely related to the structural design of RMTs. Processing units created by processing features can be combined into various processing segments. All the processing units of one processing segment correspond to the machining operations performed by one RMT. By arranging the processing segments according to the processing sequence, a variety of feasible processing plans for a part can be obtained. Through analysis of the established similarity calculation model for processing plans, the most similar processing plans for the parts in a given part family can be determined and used for the structural design of RMTs. Therefore, the designed RMTs can achieve rapid conversion of processing functions with the least module replacement or adjustment to realize the production of the parts in the part family. Taking the production of a gearbox part family as an example, the validity of the presented method is verified.
Highlights
All feasible processing units must be created in each machining orientation of the the natural combination process units can be screened out, and they can form an alternapart, and the processing plans of the part must be generated from these base elements
In order to facilitate the production of the part family, the optimized processing plans of all the parts should serve as the basis for the design of Reconfigurable machine tools (RMTs)
RMTs corresponding to various processing segments can be reconstructed, exchanged, moved, or increased according to the demands of production changes and capacity, and workpieces are transported through the gantry between the machine tools
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. CNCs, require a large investment and do not have the advantages of low cost and high efficiency over DMTs in batch processing, but they are suitable for multi-variety, single-piece and small-batch product processing [6] In this context, Koren et al [5] at the University of Michigan, put forward the concept of a reconfigurable machine tool. Research on the process planning method for part families in reconfigurable manufacturing will be of great significance for the reasonable and effective design of RMTs and RMSs [10]. Ming et al proposed a highly efficient calculation method for sensitive, position-dependent geometric error (PDGE) identification of a five-axis reconfigurable machine tool [21] Using this method, sensitive PDGEs can be calculated directly according to a mapping expression, which eliminates the process of error modeling and analysis.
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