Progress on the development of FMC control software for CIM

Abstract

This paper presents an architecture and control logic of a Flexible Manufacturing Cell (FMC) which is one of the important elements under Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) environment. To implement FMC, it is very important to develop a software which can control and monitor the overall system in an integrated environment. Our primary concern in this research is not to develop individual systems, but to integrate them in the hierarchical control level. Progress on the research of integrating CAD/CAM, Process Planning, Off-line Robot Programming and Simulation module into FMC control system is reported. FMC hardware system used here has an Automated Storage & Retrieval System (AS/RS), a conveyor system, a transfer robot, a CNC milling machine, a bar-code system, and an IBM PC/AT as Cell Control System (CCS). In order to demonstrate the operational result, the name plates, text-carved aluminium plates, are manufactured by this system