The Vertical Machining Workstation of the AMRF: Software Integration

Published

April 1, 1986

Author(s)

Charles R. McLean

Abstract

The software architecture of the Vertical Machining Workstation (VWS) in the Automated Manufacturing Research Facility (AMRF) at the National Bureau of Standards is presented. The prototype system demonstrates flexible computer-integrated manufacturing for a family of prismatic parts. The workstation software components include: a feature-based design system for defining part geometries, an automatic process planning and NC code generation system, a state machine-based hierarchical control system which executes process plans, a diagnostic tools package, and a mailbox communications software. The mechanical components of the workstation, described in a companion paper, include: a CNC vertical machining center, a robot and locally implemented gripper system, a pneumatic vise, a vacuum chip removal system, local part storage, and tray roller tables for a robot cart materials delivery system. The system is capable of running in stand-alone mode as a single station computer-integrated manufacturing system, or remotely under the AMRF cell controller.

Proceedings Title

ASME Symposium on Intelligent and Integrated Manufacturing

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

Vertical Machining Workstation (VWS), computer-integrated manufacturing, process planning, nc code generation system

Citation

McLean, C. (1986), The Vertical Machining Workstation of the AMRF: Software Integration, ASME Symposium on Intelligent and Integrated Manufacturing, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=821357 (Accessed April 23, 2024)