Industrial Manufacturing Systems Research Articles

Monitoring and predictive maintenance: Modeling and analyse of fault latency

This paper presents an effective way of modeling complex systems through identified functioning modes. In the proposed approach, the integration of monitoring in the manufacturing system is facilitated by the development of a generic model. The aim is to propose a monitoring system able of absorbing internal degradation of any variables and ensuring the continuity of the service. The outline of the optimization of the fault latency method is based on two steps is proposed. The first step is the evaluation of fault latency and the second one is the performance evaluation of monitoring process. Timed automata are the modeling tool used for these two steps. The proposed method can be applied to various kinds of processes and gives good results. Indeed, the simulation results, including a serial manufacturing line, substantiate the feasibility of the proposed method and provide a promising potential to spin-off applications in industrial manufacturing system.

An agent-based intelligent control platform for industrial holonic manufacturing systems

New revolutionary manufacturing paradigms, which take advantage of the newest emerging mechatronics, information, and communication technologies, and integrate them in a highly dynamic and agile economic, technical, and organizational manufacturing environment, are being researched and developed since the last decade of the 20th century. This new generation of manufacturing systems is referenced as intelligent manufacturing systems (IMS), and both the "holonic manufacturing system" (HMS) and the "agent-oriented manufacturing system" paradigms have been presented in recent years as the basis for making such systems a reality. This paper reports on the design and realization of an agent-based intelligent control system for industrial manufacturing systems, which covers both conventional mechatronics equipment and embedded control agents. The agent-based control software components are implemented as Windows NT services and logic control programs and interfaced via distributed component object model (DCOM) and Ethernet. Results of the application in an industrial manufacturing environment are used to show the effectiveness of the proposed "Holonic" approach.

A STUDY OF FAULT DIAGNOSIS AND RECOVERY TECHNIQUES FOR MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

The paper describes a framework for the development of a diagnosis methodology for industrial manufacturing systems. The aim of the project is to support technicians that supervise the manufacturing plant to identify the causes of faults and failures on the machine and, in particular, to indicate a procedure for the recovery of its working condition. The requirements described in the paper have been defined giving particular care to the peculiarities of the application domain, in order to allow the design of a powerful, but easy to use for industrial technicians, diagnostic system.

AGV System with Dual Motor Drive by Distributed Control

With the recent progress in flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) in industry, increasing attention has been given to Automatic Guided Vehicle (AGV) systems. An AGV is a self-powered unit for transporting materials between stations without needing to be controlled by an operator. Such a system has several sensors to recognize the external state, and it is designed to travel between stations without external assistance. To manage each device quickly and independently it requires a distributed controller with a main computer as the host, as well as a number of micro-controllers. In this study, an AGV system with dual motor drive was constructed. A Pentium 4 personal computer was set up as the main host for the distributed control, and this communicated with other micro-controllers in the management of the motor. The speed of each motor was also controlled by a micro-controller.

A team-based holonic approach to robotic assembly cell control

Holonic systems are systems that are modelled in terms of components (holons) that have their own unique identity but are part of a larger whole. This larger whole is known as a holarchy. The manufacturing community has recognised the potential benefits of the holonic approach and it has attracted much interest over the past decade. This paper describes elements of a reference model for holonic manufacturing systems in which holons are characterised by the services that they provide and the services that they require other holons to perform on their behalf. In addition, individual holon behaviours are specified in terms of services, providing the ability for behaviours to be specified in a resource independent manner. We expect that this will result in the construction of systems that are easier to understand, extend and modify. An implementation of the model for the control of an industrial strength manufacturing system is described. An interesting feature of the manufacturing system is that the existing controllers are retained, thus demonstrating that holonic control can be implemented using conventional control hardware.

Virtual Automation System Standards

Computer based models have become an indispensable means for the planning, optimisation and operation of industrial manufacturing systems. The usability and significance of the models strongly depends on their accuracy, availability and functional extent. Today, suitable models for components of automation systems are available only for some types of components. Functionality for simulation purposes is often limited and integration costs are often still considerable. These problems were widely solved for industrial robots in the 'Realistic Robot Simulation' (RRS) projects. There, world-wide standards for Virtual Robot Controllers (VRCs) were created. Now, this success should be transferred to other components of automation systems like programmable logic controllers (PLCs), human-machine interface (HMI) systems, bus systems and effector sensor systems.

Agile manufacturing systems in the automotive industry

In the automotive industry, it is thought that agile manufacturing systems will permit fast cost-effective responses to unpredictable and ever-changing product demand, and support rapid product launches for previously unplanned products tailored to meet changing customer desires. We discuss two simple decision models that provide initial insights and industry perspective into the business case for investment in agile manufacturing systems. The models are applied to study the hypothetical decision of whether to invest in a dedicated, agile, or flexible manufacturing system for engine and transmission parts machining. These decision models are a first step toward developing practical business case tools that help industry to assess the value of agile manufacturing systems.

Simulation integration in manufacturing system development: a study of Japanese industry

Focuses on the integrated use of simulation tools, particularly discrete‐event simulation, in the design and development of manufacturing systems in Japanese industry. The results are based on questionnaires and visits to seven large Japanese manufacturers and show that most of the visited companies do not use simulation to any large extent, particularly not discrete‐event simulation. Some of the reasons for this are general, while others are specific for Japan. However, the use of simulation is believed to increase in Japanese industry. Furthermore, argues that there is a large potential for increased use of advanced simulation techniques in Japanese manufacturing companies, mainly for two reasons. This would result in improved communication, reduced time‐to‐market and higher flexibility in volume and product‐mix.

A laboratory infrastructure for flexible automation and integrated manufacturing research

Technical innovations within the scopes of manufacturing, electronics, and information technologies constantly change the existing software and hardware infrastructure of computer integrated enterprises. The increasing emphasis on the CIM systems necessitates continuous improvement and upgrade of the research and educational missions of university manufacturing research laboratories, in accordance with the latest developments in the field of computer technology and its related manufacturing applications. With the intent to provide a laboratory flexible manufacturing cell mimicking major features of most industrial flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) for university research and educational use, the Flexible Manufacturing Systems Laboratory at the University of Toledo has been established. This paper introduces the basic features and capabilities of this laboratory in conjunction with a synopsis of research projects being undertaken and those being planned for.

EMPIRICAL EVALUATION OF EXPONENTIAL AND INDEPENDENCE ASSUMPTIONS IN QUEUEING MODELS OF MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

This paper presents actual data (processing times, interarrival times, cycles‐between‐failures, and time‐to‐repair) from two automotive body welding lines. The purpose is twofold. First, to help researchers focus their work on realistic problems, we exhibit the nature of randomness actually found in two industrial manufacturing systems and provide a data source for realistic probability distributions. Second, we assess the validity of two common assumptions regarding this randomness in automotive manufacturing. Many queueing network models assume that certain random variables are independent and exponentially distributed. Though often reasonable, the primary motivation for the independence and exponentiality assumptions is mathematical tractability.

Intelligent scheduling and control of rail-guided vehicles and load/unload operations in a flexible manufacturing system

This paper presents a framework of intelligent manufacturing scheduling and control with specific applications to operations of rail-guided vehicle systems (RGVS). A RGVS control architecture is discussed with a focus on a simulated experiment in operations of the load/unload area of a real industrial flexible manufacturing system (FMS). In the operation stage of a material handling system (MHS), all shop floor data are subject to change as time goes. These data can be collected using a data acquisition device and stored in a dynamic database. The RGVS simulator used in this experimental study is designed to incorporate some possible situations representing existing material handling scenarios in order to evaluate alternative control policies. At the development stage of the controller, all possible combinations of most commonly encountered scenarios such as RGV failures, production schedule changes, machine breakdowns, and rush orders are to be simulated and corresponding results collected. The data are then structured into training data pairs to properly train an artificial neural network. The neural network, trained by using input/output data sets obtained from a number of simulation runs, will then provide control strategy recommendations. At the application stage, whenever an abnormal scenario occurs, a pre-processor will be activated to pre-screen and prepare an input vector for the trained neural network. If such an abnormal scenario falls outside the existing domain of data sets employed to train the neural network, as judged by the MHS supervisory controller, an off-line training module will be activated to eventually update the neural network. The recommended control strategies will be transmitted to the MHS control for real-time execution. If there is no further abnormal event detected, the dynamic data base (DDB) module simply continues to monitor the MHS activities. The proposed MHS control system combines the features of example based neural network technology and simulation modeling for true intelligent, on-line, pseudo real-time control. Not only will the system assure that feasible material handling control actions be taken, but also it will implement better control decisions through continuous learning from experiences captured as the operation time of the MHS accumulates.

An Autonomous Objects Architecture for Developing Flexible Industrial Automation and Manufacturing Systems

This paper presents an object-oriented approach to the development of real-time computer-based systems (Le. hardware and software) that are embedded in devices used in intelligent industrial automation systems, such as those required for agile manufacturing and multi-agent systems. The approach covers all development phases, from requirements engineering, through hardware and software (co)design, until implementation. The paper discusses strategies and metrics for identifying and structuring software and hardware components of industrial automation applications using real-time autonomous objects. Such structuring approach allows a representation of the application domain at a very high level of abstraction. It also allows a very flexible structure for implementing adaptive automation strategies, such as those required in intelligent manufacturing systems. The whole system is considered as a set of communicating autonomous objects, where each object has local processing and decision making capabilities. The proposed approach is explained using a case study of a Wine Bottling Production Line Automation.

Modern materials and manufacturing processes

MATERIALS OF MANUFACTURE: The Atomic and Crystalline Structure of Materials Extraction and Refinement of Common Metals Metallurgical Science Heat Treatment of Metals Extraction and Refinement of Common Nonmetallic Materials Selection and Application of Materials SURVEY OF MANUFACTURING PROCESSES: Processing of Metals: Casting Processing of Metals: Hot Working Processing of Metals: Cold Working Powder Metallurgy Principles of Machining Processes Machine Tool Operations Nontraditional Machining Processes Joining Processes Plastics and Composites Processing Corrosion and Protection for Materials Processing Other Industrial Materials MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS: Design, Tooling and Production Lines Automation in Manufacturing Quality Assurance and Control The Manufacturing Industry Glossary Index.

Performance evaluation of a job-shop-like flexible manufacturing system with transfer blocking using a Markovian queuing network model

An industrial flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is investigated with Markovian analysis in order to estimate the steady-state performance criteria. The system includes flexible machines, fixed storage areas, a fixed number of pallets and an automated material handling device. A procedure is developed to aggregate part-type dependent data so that a single class of parts is obtained and the number of states of the underlying Markov chain is significantly reduced. Problems encountered when implementing Markovian approaches are dealt with by using the QNAP2 software package. Results based on a real workload are given for several transport durations and are very satisfactory when compared with those of simulation experiments. The overall approach exhibits a great flexibility, which is highly desirable for the systems studied.

Robotics technology and the advent of agile manufacturing systems in the footwear industry

Provides an overview of the present state of the footwear manufacturing industry and the consumer footwear market. Describes how many manufacturers have recognized the need for advanced manufacturing techniques and automation technologies, turning to robotics and automation for more reliable manufacturing system solutions. Reports on the robotics integration and system‐level products specifically targeted for footwear manufacturing operations provided by three specialist companies; ACTIS Engineering, DESMA and Intelligent Machines Corporation.

Double band policy for a classof stochastic industrialmanufacturing system in heavy traffic

We consider the problem of controlling a stochastic industrial manufacturing system producing a single product. The demand for this system consists of two components: one is deterministic with constant rale dand the other is stochastic with random demand batches .The manager can decide at any time to turn on or turn oil the machine. He can also decide at any time to purchase any amount of product from outside vendors. The cost of system operation consists of linear holding cost, machine setup cost, fixed order cost and linear varied purchase cost. The objective is to minimize the total expected discounted cost. Under heavy traffic condition, this problem is approximated by an impulse control problem of Brownian motion, which is solved explicitly. Its solution is then converted into a policy for the original system, which turned out to be asymptotically optimal. The resulting policy is characterized by three parameters and is dubbed double band policy. When the inventorv reaches S 0 the machine is turned off and it is turned on again when the inventory decreases to level Q 0 If the inventory goes to zero, the manager will purchase qufrom outside vendor

The Development of Incentive Payment Systems in Australian Manufacturing Industry, 1945–1970

Abstract The issue of enterprise specific payment systems has been largely ignored by Australian industrial relations writers. Much of this has been based upon an assumption that arbitration has limited or precluded the development of these forms of payment. This article seeks to rectify this neglect by examining the extent and development of various workplace payment systems in manufacturing industry during the period from the end of the Second World War to the late 1960s. Far from being inconsequential, the paper concludes that various forms of performance related payments have indeed played a central role in Australian workplace industrial relations and that the extent of their application has been on a par with overseas experience.

Survey of CdTe nuclear detector applications

Research and development efforts on CdTe have been ongoing for many years. The improved sensor performance which has resulted from these efforts has increased the number of critical applications for which CdTe sensors are the best choice. Applications range from clinical diagnosis and life saving monitoring systems in nuclear medicine to quality assurance systems in manufacturing and safety systems in the nuclear power industry. New applications for CdTe have been increasing rapidly over the last few years and several of the most important are discussed.

Discrete Colorimetric Spaces: An Application to Automatic Recognition of Color Codes

A digitized color picture is a cloud of points in space of the three chromatic components, red, green and blue. The luminance of each of these components is quantified, which yields a finite number of whole values that characterize both the color and the luminance of that color. In order to isolate the chrominance information, chrominance coefficients are calculated. Thus, space is reduced to a color plane (MAXWELL triangle). Discretisation of the departure space gives rise to accumulations in the color tiangle and to a specific typology as to the distribution of zones in unsaturated colors.These results make it possible to identify more easily the problems of automatic recognition of colors whenever one has to do with actual objects rotating in an industrial manufacturing system. We give an example showing the automatic detection of an error during the insertion of components on to an electronic plate. This application consists in recognizing the value of the component from the colors of the marking code, through integrating the scattering on point rings.

The spy: A mechanism for safe implementation of highly concurrent systems

This work presents concepts and techniques developed for real-time control of an industrial manufacturing system. One of the main industrial requirements was to acheive a high degree of safeness at low cost. The overall architecture of the system is developed to provide reasonable protection against failures. It is centered around a triple schema: 1) Use of off-line testing techniques of the computer support (as a background task); 2) Use of an abstract copy of the application software acting as a generalized watch-dog, the spy; and 3) Use of special error detecting/correcting codes for essential information concerning the state of the system, plus executable assertions concerning the critical procedures. In this paper we introduce the ideas and techniques that define the spy. Because the kind of system to be controlled is highly concurrent, Petri nets were adopted as the formal tool to describe concurrency. Their graphical representation plus their extensive validation theory will help the designer in the phases previous to software implementation.