The design of a line control system for the modular furniture industry

Abstract

This paper describes the design and development of a low cost shop floor control system for the modular furniture industry. An architecture in five hierarchical levels has been selected. An overview of the functions performed by line and workstation levels are described, likewise that information system part related with the control system. A detailed discussion about line level is presented and principally the incorporation of a Schedule Manager, based on an expert system. The proposed line level architecture and the software tools used in its implementation give a greater flexibility to the line control system.