Modular production systems : a motion control scheme for actuators

The thesis outlines the present day demands being placed on manufacturers of discrete goods. The conclusion reached is that economic pressures and changing consumer demand are increasingly demanding manufacturing to be, among other things, both more cost effective and 'flexible'. Traditional ('human-centred') methods of manufacturing and the role of the manual worker in achieving production flexibility are assessed. The conclusion reached is that duplicating the physical dexterity and decision capabilities of the human with robotic type machinery is technically complex and unlikely to provide the most cost effective route to manufacturing automation. Production systems built from modular subsystems are investigated as an alternative way of achieving flexibility, albeit through reconfigurability. The thesis advances the modular concept and speculates on the possible benefits that could be achieved if a production systems were built in a totally modular manner. In particular the requirements of actuator systems for modular production systems are discussed. Subsequent work focuses on control systems for modular actuators and in particular the design of a 'generic' motion controller. Methods of achieving profile control are appraised and a prototype actuator and microprocessor-based controller is designed and built to test and evaluate a model-based control scheme. Performance comparisons between the model-based control scheme and a feedback control scheme are detailed and the wider implications of the model-based approach, within the context of the modular production systems approach to manufacturing, is discussed.