<title>Process data acquisition: real-time and historical interfaces</title>

Abstract

With the advent of touch probe technology, it was discovered that current closed architecture controllers do not provide adequate resources to support the implementation of process data acquisition on the shop floor. At AlliedSignal Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, a process data acquisition system has been developed for a flexible manufacturing system utilizing touch probes and customized software which allows fixture and cutting tool related information for an entire process to be captured and stored for off-line analysis. The implementation of this system, the difficulties and pitfalls, will be presented along with the functionality required for an open architecture controller to properly support process data acquisition.