Open architecture control system for a modular reconfigurable machine tool.
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Date
2013
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Abstract
The present day manufacturing environment has forced manufacturing systems to be flexible and
adaptable to be able to match the product demands and frequent introduction of new products and
technologies. This research forms part of a greater research initiative that looks at the development of
the reconfigurable manufacturing paradigm. Previous research has shown that the lack of
development of a Modular Reconfigurable Manufacturing Tools (MRMT) and Open Architecture
Control System (OACS) is currently a key limiting factor to the establishment of Reconfigurable
Manufacturing Systems (RMS), which has been the primary motivation for this research.
Open Architecture (OA) systems aim to bring the ideas of RMS to control systems for machining
systems. An OA system incorporates vendor neutrality, portability, extendibility, scalability and
modularity. The research has proposed, designed and developed a novel solution that incorporates
these core principles allowing the system to be flexible in mechanical and control architectures. In
doing so, the system can be reconfigured at any time to match the specific manufacturing functionality
required at that time thereby prolonging the lifecycle of the machine via multiple reconfigurations
over time, in addition to decreasing the cost of system modifications due to a well-defined modular
system. The reconfiguration and machining variance is achieved by the introduction of mechanical and
control modules that extend the Degrees of Freedom (DOF’s) available to the system.
The OACS has been developed as a modular solution that links closely to the existing mechanical
modularity on the RMT to maximize the reconfigurability of the system. The aim was to create a one to
one link between mechanical and electronic hardware and the software system. This has been
achieved by the addition of microcontroller based distributed modules which acts as the interface
between the electro-mechanical machine axes via hardwired signals and the host PC via the CAN bus
communication interface.
The distributed modules have been developed on different microcontrollers, which have successfully
demonstrated the openness and customizability of the system. On the host PC, the user is presented
with a GUI that allows the user to configure the control system based on the MRMT physical
configuration. The underlying software algorithms such as, text Interpretation, linear interpolation, PID
or PI controllers and determination of kinematic viability are part of the OACS and are used at run time
for machine operation.
The machining and control performance of the system is evaluated on the previously developed
MRMT. The performance evaluation also covers the analysis of the reconfigurability and scalability of
the system. The research is concluded with a presentation based on conclusions drawn from the
research covering the challenges, limitations and problems that OA and RMS can face before MRMT
become readily available for industry.
Description
M.Sc.Eng. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2013.
Keywords
Machining--Automation., Manufacturing Automation Protocol., Theses--Mechanical engineering.