posted on 2014-03-06, 11:47authored byRichard H. Weston, A.H. Booth, Philip R. Moore, P.R. Harrison, Keith Case
There is a growing pressure on many manufacturing oganisations to produce
products in small volumes. However, to date, most automation projects have
centred on high volume production. The major impediment to the application
of programmable automation lies in the high cost of engineering solutions.
Already a range of control system components are available to produce
flexible automation schemes but as yet the selection and use of those
components is a highly specialised exercise which is generally not well
understood. This paper describes the need for an open control architecture
for programmable machines and outlines findings of a proof of concept
research project aimed at formalising the design of control systems. The
work has resulted in a “motion control shell' which can much reduce the
cost and time involved when building machine controllers.
History
School
Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
Citation
WESTON, R.H. ... et al, 1990. A machine control shell for next generation manufacturing machines. IN: Davies, B.J. (ed). Machine tool design and research: 28th International MATADOR conference, 18th-19th April 1990, UMIST, Manchester. Macmillan Education, pp. 137 - 146.