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Abstract
The evolution to computer-integrated manufacture (CIM) has been slower than expected. This can be attributed directly to high software development and maintenance costs and the difficulty in achieving the required levels of integration between systems. These problems are especially evident in the development of the shop-floor control system (SFCS). Many researchers have developed ‘standard’ CIM architectures. However, these structures are often verbose, textual descriptions that are ambiguous and lack formality. This makes descriptions based on these architectures unsuitable as a basis for control software development. Furthermore, without a formal language for describing manufacturing systems it is difficult for researchers to discuss and compare different system configurations. In view of these problems, this paper identifies a formal structure for shop-floor control. The formal structure is based on a three-level hierarchical control architecture. The purpose of this structure is to allow manufacturing systems to be described completely and unambiguously. This description can then be used as a basis for control software development, which will simplify the implementation of automated CIM systems.
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Notes on contributors
Jeffrey S. Smith
Jeffrey S. Smith is currently an Assistant Professor in the Industrial Engineering Department at Texas A&M University. He received the Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Industrial Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University in 1992 and 1990, respectively, and the B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University in 1986. Dr. Smith’s research interests involve the design, analysis, and control of flexible manufacturing systems, industrial robotics, flexible automation, and production systems, Currently he is working on the development of formal models of shop floor control aimed at significantly decreasing the time required to create control software for flexible manufacturing systems. He teaches courses on production control, computer aided manufacturing, discrete event simulation, and programmable automation.