Case Study in the Challenges of Integrating CNC Production and Enterprise Systems

Published

December 3, 2007

Author(s)

Sid Venkatesh, B. Sides, John L. Michaloski, Frederick M. Proctor

Abstract

Integration of factory floor Computer Numerical Control (CNC) information into Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) subsystems has been difficult, if not impossible, as traditionally, factory floor machines have been islands of automation.  Boeing/NIST/Okuma jointly collaborated on a pilot project for using a CNC open architecture controller to collect real-time Boeing-specific part accounting data during the production of Boeing 737 Leading Edge (LE) Panels. The goal was to develop a practical and standardized approach in which to capture the real-time part data and then provide this information to an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) subsystem. This paper presents the results from our Boeing/Okuma/NIST pilot project that evaluated Ole for Process Control (OPC) as an integration strategy for the LE Production Line part accounting at Boeing. Using OPC, automatic logging of the relevant part production statistics was done for each production line, which in turn was used to more accurately determine the total cost of making each LE production line.

Conference Dates

November 11-15, 2007

Conference Location

Seattle, WA, USA

Conference Title

2007 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

open architecture, Computer Numerical Control (CNC), control, standard, manufacturing, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Citation

Venkatesh, S. , Sides, B. , Michaloski, J. and Proctor, F. (2007), Case Study in the Challenges of Integrating CNC Production and Enterprise Systems, 2007 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Seattle, WA, USA, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=824593 (Accessed October 17, 2025)