The main idea of this paper is recent about the transformation of system actions extracted from the user requirement. The system actions are required before the implementation of reconfigurable automation work system. System actions are selected base on suitability of a process. Later, each system actions are matched with suitable system components to create a set of system specification. This specification is used to implement the automation system for each process. The developments of the automation work systems are limited by some constraints such as number of component used as well as the availability of component in the repository system

A Rahman, M

Mo, J

RMIT Research Repository

?Thank
?
??????
???????
??????
?
?
Citatio
See th
Version
Copyri
Link to
??
?
you for do
??????????
??????????
??????????
n: 
is record i
:
ght Statem
 Published
?
wnloading
??????????
?????????????
??????????????????????????????????????????
n the RMI
ent: ©  
 Version:
 this docum
????????????
??????????
T Researc
ent from 
??????????
?
h Reposit
the RMIT R
??????????
ory at:  
esearch R
??????????
epository
??????????
????
??
PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE THIS PAGE
A Rahman, M and Mo, J 2012, 'Transformation of system action for reconfigurable
automation work system', Advanced Materials Research, vol. 422, pp. 359-362.
http://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/view/rmit:19687
Accepted Manuscript
2012 Trans Tech Publications
http://dx.doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.422.359
 Transformation of System Action for Reconfigurable Automation Work 
System  
Muhamad Arfauz A Rahman1,2,a and John P.T. Mo2,b 
1Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Hang Tuah Jaya, 
76100 Durian Tunggal, Melaka, Malaysia 
2School of Aerospace, Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, Plenty Road, 
Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia 
aarfauz@utem.edu.my, bjohn.mo@rmit.edu.au 
Keywords: Automation System, Reconfiguration, System Actions, System Components, System 
Specifications, User Requirements. 
 
Abstract. The main idea of this paper is recent about the transformation of system actions extracted 
from the user requirement. The system actions are required before the implementation of 
reconfigurable automation work system. The systems chosen for this work includes basic sorting, 
assembly and painting process. The system actions are selected and specified base on suitability of 
each process. Later, each system actions are matched with suitable system components to create a set 
of system specification. This specification is used to implement the automation system for each 
process. Various automation components are used to achieve this work. This includes the use of 
Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) as the main controller. The developments of the systems are 
limited by some constraints such as number of component used as well as the availability of 
component in the repository system.   
Introduction 
Changes in user requirements and low flexibility of the system are amongst the challenges that limit 
the system’s capability [1]. In order to encounter this issue, Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems 
(RMS) has been introduced [2-4]. Prior to implementing the RMS, a system specification is required. 
An appropriate system specification is an essential step leading to the successful implementation of 
automation work system configuration. The system need to be configured and reconfigured 
accordingly from time to time in order to adapt with the new user requirements. The basic 
reconfiguration activity for this work is shown in the following Fig. 1.  
 
 
Fig. 1: Reconfiguration Process Activity 
 
 Currently, the way system design engineers reconfigure their automation work system is through a 
time consuming evaluation and costly redevelopment [5-7]. Introducing the more suitable method 
which allows the manufacturer to easily reconfigure with less time and investment is an immense step 
towards competitive manufacturing. In order to implement the new reconfiguration, system 
specifications need to be finalized. The system specifications consist of system actions, system 
components and system space utilization. In automation work system reconfiguration, engineer 
requires an understandable set of user requirements, either from verbal description or by some 
documentation [8]. The proposed model structure transforms a set of user requirement which usually 
comes together with the physical and/or non physical constraints. Since there are no defined working 
rules of integrating or matching user requirements with system constraints, the system design process 
is an intuitive and often unpredictable task.   
 
In this paper, a general extraction of user requirement is shown in the next section. Later, the 
information on system specifications including selection of system action and system components are 
discussed. To conclude the work, an example on system implementation work for sorting process is 
shown in this paper. 
User Requirements 
At the beginning of the process, the platform/framework requires an understandable set of user 
requirements, either from verbal description or by some documentation/statement, to formulate a 
conceptual model of what the system is supposed to do. This user requirement may come before or 
after a system is already available. The goal is therefore not about adapting one system to another, but 
rather to develop a system design from user requirements independent of the platform, and 
subsequently carry out a matching process that assigns components to achieve the specified function. 
Examples of user requirements are illustrated in the following statement: 
 
a. Sort 2 materials by weight  
b. Assemble 2 parts by inserting B on top of A  
c. Paint using 2 different colors on 2 different surfaces  
 
From all the requirements, the extraction process begin with identifying the process type (P), item 
count (I) and condition (C) which at this stage known as an identifier. The following shows some 
possible component for each identifier. 
 
• Possible Process Type (P):  
• Sorting – 1, 2, 3, . . . , n product  
• Assembly – 1, 2, 3, . . . , n part  
• Painting – 1, 2, 3, . . . , n color  
 
• Possible Number of Item Count (I):  
• ‘n’ number of product  
• ‘n’ number of part  
• ‘n’ number of color  
 
• Possible Condition (C):  
• By weight, material, height  
• From side, top, bottom  
• According to assignment  
 
The following statement shows the extraction process for each of the user requirements: 
  
a. Sort 2 materials by weight 
 
 
 
 
b. Assemble 2 parts by inserting B on top of A 
 
 
 
 
c. Paint using 2 different colors on 2 different surfaces 
 
 
System Specifications 
In order for the development to take place, basic system specifications are required as a reference for 
developing the framework. These specifications are extracted from the user requirements provided at 
early stage of the reconfiguration process. In the next process, the extraction of the user requirements 
will eventually produce required system specifications. 
System Actions and System Components 
At this stage, list of componenst are required in order to suit with each system actions. Since the 
expected outcome of the manufacturing system may differ from one to another, extensive lists are 
required. The repository will provide heaps of data regarding various components required in the 
processing level of the proposed reconfiguration framework. It will be used once the steps and 
conditions are satisfied with the requirements. System action may consist of the following: 
a. SORT 
b. SENSE 
c. TRANSFER 
d. SLIDE 
e. MEMORIZE 
 
A set of components will be created which will store the database and will be known as system 
component repository. This repository contains numbers of components needed for setting up various 
types of system.  Amongst the various components which will be kept in the library of component 
may consist of the following: 
a. CYLINDER 
b. SENSOR 
c. CONVEYOR 
d. SLIDER 
e. PLC 
System Actions and Components Selection 
Selection/combination of the system action is based on the process type acquired from the user/system 
requirements. On the other hand, the selection of the system component is base on individual system 
action acquired in the prior stage. The following Table 1 shows an example of the selection of system 
components with corresponding system actions. 
 
P 
P 
I 
I 
C 
C 
C 
P I 
 Table 1: Selection of System Components with Corresponding System Actions for Sorting Process 
 
 
The following relationships shows examples combination of system actions together with system 
components for all three processes: 
 
a. Sorting Process 
 
 
b. Assembly Process 
 
 
c. Painting Process 
 
System Space Utilization 
The first steps towards the implementation stages are to finalize the system actions and system 
components selection from the database. Once the components are selected, the approximate size of 
the system can be obtained for initial prediction of the space required for lying down the system. The 
following Table 2 shows the relationship to select the suitable components for each the actions.  
 
Table 2: Components Selection for the Reconfigured Sorting Process 
ACTIONS COMPONENTS QUANTITY SPACE 
 REQUIRED 
LOAD CELL 1 A1 SENSE THROUGH BEAM 1 A2 
MEMORIZE PLC 1 A3 
TRANSFER CONVEYOR 1 A4 
SORT CYLINDER 1 A5 
SLIDE SLIDER 2 A6 
 
On top of the listed components, accessories to run the system may be required but not included in this 
discussion. From the individual space information, the total required space for the complete system 
can be calculated as follow: 
 
System Space required = Asystem = ∑Ai = A1 + A2 + A3 + A4+ A5 + A6 
 
The system space layout for the reconfigured sorting system in this work is shown in Fig. 2. 
 
 
Fig. 2: Space Approximation for the Reconfigured Sorting System 
 
The layout is not a final layout but is more on the sizing of the proposed new reconfigured system. At 
this stage it does not indicate specific orientation of the system. However the information is useful 
during layout orientation stage. 
System Implementation 
The initiation of the system implementation has been taken place using the modular automation 
system to show the preliminary outcome. The implementation has been developed in a form of system 
which is shown in Fig. 3. The system has been developed using the user requirements for sorting 
process in the earlier work section. 
 
 
Fig. 3: Hardware Representation of the System Implementation 
  
The system operates using conveyor as the transfer system. Once the product is placed on the 
weighing station, the conveyor will transfer the product from the current spot until it reaches the 
decision area. At the decision area, the pneumatic cylinder will either push the product onto the first 
slider or let the product through to the second slider. This decision making process is done by the 
Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). The implemented system has proved that the outcome of this 
work can provide a set of understandable system specifications for reconfiguration of manufacturing 
automation system accordingly.   
Summary 
In this paper the transformation of system actions for the implementation of a laboratory scale 
automation system for a given set of user requirements and system specifications are described. This 
work is part of the main reconfiguration structure for reconfigurable automation work system. The 
succession of this part will reduce the cost and time involve in redesigning and reconfiguring the 
manufacturing automation system. The end structure will later provide system specifications for the 
design of flexible and reconfigurable manufacturing automation system in total. In conjunction with 
this research work, the future expected outcome for the reconfiguration structure will be in the form of 
system coordination or layout. 
Acknowledgements 
This work was raised from the collaborative partnership between RMIT University, Australia and 
SAGE Didactic, Australia an established automation education facility supporting multi-level 
learning requirements. The researcher was financially supported by the Universiti Teknikal Malaysia 
Melaka (UTeM), Malaysia and Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) Malaysia. 
References 
[1] A. Ferscha, M. Hechinger, M.d.S. Rocha, R. Mayrhofer, A. Zeidler, A. Riener, M. Franz, 
EURASIP Journal on Embedded Systems, vol. (2008). 
[2] Y. Koren, U. Heisel, F. Jovane, T. Moriwaki, G. Pritschow, G. Ulsoy, H.V. Brussel, CIRP Annals, 
vol. 48 (1999) pp. 527-540. 
[3] H.A. ElMaraghy, International Jounal of Flexible Manufacturing Systems, vol. 17 (2006) pp. 
261-276. 
[4] Y. Koren, M. Shpitalni, Journal of Manufacturing Systems, 29 (2010) 130-141. 
[5] M.R. Abdi, International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management, vol. 17 (2009) 
pp.149-165. 
[6] R. Álvarez, R. Calvo, M. Peña, R. Domingo, The International Journal of Advanced 
Manufacturing Technology, vol. 43 (2009) pp. 949-958. 
[7] H.A. ElMaraghy, O. Kuzgunkaya, R.J. Urbanic, CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology, vol. 
54 (2005) pp. 445-450. 
[8] M.A.A. Rahman, J.P.T. Mo, in:  ASME 2010 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & 
Exposition, ASME, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 2010. 
 
 


Transformation of system action for reconfigurable automation work system

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

RMIT Research Repository