A Thin, Hardware-Supported Middleware Management System for Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems

Abstract

The reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS) paradigm was introduced in response to the need for a manufacturing environment that can handle high-frequency market-driven change. Although this has resulted in much research into the implementation of such a system, there is currently a gap in the technology covering the rapid establishment of control after a reconfiguration. This gap involves the detection of the factory floor's state, and the communication link between the factory floor and the high-level software (ERP and MES). This paper proposes a thin, hardware-supported middleware management system to support the reconfiguration process and to support industrial implementation to the RMS paradigm. OPSOMMINGDie herkonfigureerbare vervaardigingstelsel paradigma is ontwikkel in reaksie op die behoefte aan 'n vervaardigingsomgewing wat hoë frekwensie, markgedrewe verandering kan hanteer. Alhoewel baie navorsing tot die implementering van so 'n stelsel gedoen is, bestaan daar steeds 'n gaping in die tegnologie tot die spoedige beheername van só 'n stelsel na 'n herkonfigurasie. Hierdie gaping behels die bepaling van die aanlegvloer se toestand en die kommunikasie tussen die aanlegvloer en die hoëvlak sagteware (soos ondernemingshulpbronbeplanning).'n Dun, hardeware ondersteunde oorbruggingsbestuursagteware om die herkonfigurasie proses te steun en om die industriële implementering van herkonfigureerbare vervaardigingstelsels te bevorder, word voorgestel.

An Introduction To, and Discussion Of, the Implementation of the Advanced Amalgamated Agile Manufacturing System

“…The RMS paradigm relies on six key characteristics to maintain flexibility without sacrificing throughput: modularity, integrability, diagnosability, convertibility, customisation, and scalability. The key characteristics have been discussed in detail in previous papers [1,2,4].…”

“…The inherent flexibility of an RMS brings about challenges in implementation specifically to do with dynamic control and the re-establishment of control after a physical change in the system (a reconfiguration) [1]. The majority of these complications have come about due to the large number of possible combinations of machines and modules on machines on the factory floor (including layout options and tool changes), and due to the inevitable heterogeneity that manifests in a system made up of machines from different vendors -each of which needs to be known by the central control system or manufacturing execution system [3].…”

“…Previously, a bottleneck occurred when the system was placed in its new state but had to have the software on all the machine controllers reconfigured. This issue was addressed in previous research, which proposed a system that handles the re-establishment of control in an RMS [1,3].…”

“…The modern manufacturing industry experiences frequent and unpredictable changes in the marketplace that have driven the development of agile manufacturing systems [1]. There has been a movement in research towards the responsiveness and practical implementation of agile mass production systems, starting with the introduction of the reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS) [2].…”

“…Since the introduction of practical agile systems, there has been intensive research into enabling technologies and different forms or adaptations of the reconfigurable manufacturing system. Recent research has been done to accelerate the reconfiguration process [1] to allow an RMS to make more frequent changes and thus become more agile [3]. The accelerated RMS does not take as long to reconfigure, which means less downtime.…”