Computer integrated manufacturing/CIM

Assignment one

1. Define CIM?

Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) is the manufacturing approach of using computers to

control entire production process. This integration allows individual processes to exchange
information with each part.

Although manufacturing can be faster and less error-prone by the integration of computers.
Typically CIM relies of closed-loop control processes, based on real-time input from sensors. It is
also known as flexible design and manufacturing.

CIM stands for a holistic and methodological approach to the activities of the manufacturing
enterprise in order to achieve vast improvement in its performance.

2. Describe the introduction of CIM?

The idea of "digital manufacturing" became prominent in the early 1970s, with the release of Dr.
Joseph Harrington's book, Computer Integrated Manufacturing.

However, it was not until 1984 when computer-integrated manufacturing began to be developed
and promoted by machine tool manufacturers and the Computer and Automated Systems
Association and Society of Manufacturing Engineers (CASA/SME).

The history of CIM can be traced to the development of basic mechanical devlcea such as the
wheel (circa 3200 B.C.), lever, and winch (circa 600 B.C.), cam (circa A.D. 1000), screw (A.D.
1405) and gear in ancient and medieval times.
These basic devices were refined and used to construct the mechanisms in waterwheels, windmills
(circa A.D. 650), and steam engines (A.D. 1765).These machines generated the power to operate
other machinery of various kinds, such as flour mills (circa 85 B.C), weaving machines (flying
shuttle, 1733),machine tools (boring mill, 1775),steamboats (1787),and railroad locomotives
(1803). Power, and the capacity to generate it and transmit it to operate a process, is one of the
three basic elements of an automated system.
After his first steam engine in 1765, James Watt and his partner, Matthew Boulton, made several
improvements in the design. One of the improvements was the flying-bali governor (around 1785),
which provided feedback to control the throttle of the engine. The governor consisted of a ball on
the end of a hinged lever attached to the rotating shaft. The lever was connected to the throttie
valve. As the speed of the rotating shaft increased, the ball was forced to move outward by
centrifugal force; this in tum caused the lever to reduce the valve opening and slow the motor
speed. As rotational speed decreased, the ball and lever relaxed, thus allowing the valve to open.
The flying-ball governor was one of the first examples in engineering of feedback control, an
important type of control/system-the second basic element of an automated system.
3. What objectives manufacturing Engineers are required to achieve to be competitive in
a global context?

 Reduction in inventory
 Lower the cost of the product
 Reduce waste
 Improve quality
 Increase flexibility in manufacturing to achieve immediate and rapid response to:
 Product changes
 Production changes
 Equipment changes
 Change of personnel
4. Briefly explain about the types of Manufacturing?

Manufacturing industries can be grouped into four categories:

A. Continuous Process Industries

In this type of industry, the production process generally follows a specific sequence. These
industries can be easily automated and computers are widely used for process monitoring, control
and optimization. Oil refineries, chemical plants, food processing industries and so on are
examples of continuous process industries.
 B. Mass Production Industries

Industries manufacturing fasteners (nuts, bolts etc.), integrated chips, automobiles, entertainment
electronic products, bicycles, bearings etc. which are all mass produced can be classified as mass
production industries. Production lines are specially designed and optimized to ensure automatic
and cost-effective operation. Automation can be either fixed type or flexible.

C. Batch Production (Discrete Manufacturing)

The largest percentage of manufacturing industries can be classified as batch production industries.
The distinguishing features of this type of manufacture are the small to medium size of the batch,
and varieties of such products to be taken up in a single shop. Due to the variety of components
handled, work centers should have broader specifications. Another important fact is that small
batch size involves loss of production time associated with product changeover.

D. Programmable Automation

The concept of programmable automation was introduced later. These were electrically controlled
systems and programs were stored in punched cards and punched tapes. Typical Examples of
programmable automation are:

 Electrical programmed controlled milling machines

 Hydraulically operated Automatic lathes with programmable control drum
 Sequencing machines with punched card control /plug board control

5. Draw and explain about architecture of a typical Graphics workstation?

 Figure1. A system level block diagram of a typical high-end CAD workstation.

A color (RGB) monitors with 19" screen size and resolution of 1280 x1024 pixels is the standard.
Some workstations will have monitors with resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels. Workstations enable
the display of the drawings in several colors.

Selectable palette of 256 colors out of 17.6 million colors is normally available. The hardware
includes a CPU board with a RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) microprocessor with
Cache Memory and 512 MB RAM. Many CAD/CAM applications require at least 24 GB or more
of disc capacity.

Disc capacity can go up to 140 GB in a sophisticated graphics workstation. The communication

facilities include two or more serial ports, one or more parallel ports, and TCP/IP Ethernet
controller or other facilities for networking. A graphic workstation has also to fit into other
networking environments like NFS (Networking File System), IBM Emulation, Hyper net etc.

The distinguishing feature of a graphics workstation is the graphics board which does the display
generation and manipulation.

6. Briefly explain about the Graphics system?

A graphics system is just the graphics part of the software that sits in between the hardware and
application programs. Graphics system consists of four subsystems:

 Geometry engine subsystem

 Scan conversion subsystem
 Raster subsystem
 Display subsystem

7. Neatly draw and explain about product cycle and CAD/CAM?

The product development is the responsibility of the research and development (R&D) department
of a manufacturing company. When a product is initially introduced the sales volume will be low.
If the product is good and satisfies the customers, the sales will pick up. Sometimes, if there are
any problems in the product the company will have to make changes or improvements in the
product which is a very expensive proposition. If the defect is serious enough the company may
have to recall an entire batch of products at enormous cost and loss of goodwill.

The cycle through which a product goes through from development to retirement is called the
product life cycle. The variation of the sales volume during the life cycle of a product is graphically
shown in Fig.

Figure 2. Variation of the sales volume vs. life of a product

The product development cycle starts with developing the product concept, evolving the design,
engineering the product, manufacturing the part, marketing and servicing. The next stage is the
conceptualization of the product. The cost at which the product could be sold in the market is
decided and the overall design in terms of shape, functional specifications, ergonomics, aesthetics
etc. are considered in detail and finalized at this stage.

The work of product development is then taken to the next stage by the design department who
carefully designs each assembly and each component of the assembly. Detailed design analysis
and optimization is carried out at this stage. The design also will involve preparation of detail
drawings.

Engineering the product consists of process planning, tool design, facility design, capacity
planning, quality assurance activities, procurement, assembly planning, etc.

Marketing department will have the responsibility of carrying out appropriate product launch
activities as well as planning the sales and service network, advertising and training of sales and
service personnel.
 Fig 3 product development cycle

8. What is the fundamental reason for implementing a CAD system?

 To increase the productivity of the designer
 To improve the quality of the design
 To improve communication
 To create a database for manufacturing.
9. Neatly draw the general design process?

Fig 4 design and redesign path

 10. Draw the graph between product variety and production quality in the production
process?

Fig 5 product variety and production quantity

Production quantity refers to the number of units of a given part or product produced annually by
the plant. The annual part or product quantities produced in a given factory can be classified into
three ranges
I. Low production; Quantities in the range of 1 to l00 units per year
2 Medium production: Quantities in the range of 100 to 10,000 units annually.
3 High production; Production quantities are 10,000 to millions of units

The boundaries between the three ranges are somewhat arbitrary (author's judgment). Depending
on the types of products we are dealing with. These boundaries may shift by an order of magnitude
or so.
Some plants produce a variety of different product types, each type being made in low or medium
quantities. Other plants specialize in high production of only one product type. It is instructive to
identify product variety as a parameter distinct from production quantity.
Product variety refers to the different product designs or types that are produced in a plant.
Different products have different shapes and sizes and styles: they perform different functions:
they are sometimes intended for different markets; some have more components than others; and
so forth. The number of different product types made each year can be counted. When the number
of product types made in a factory is high. This indicates high product variety.
There is an inverse correlation between product variety and production quantity in terms of factory
operations. When product variety is high, production quantity tends to be low; and vice versa. This
relationship is depicted in Figure 5. Manufacturing plants tend to specialize in a combination of
production quantity and product variety that lies somewhere inside the diagonal band in Figure 5.
In general. a given factory tends to be limited to the product variety value that is correlated with
that production quantity
11. Which functions to be carried out in CIM software comprises computer programmes?

CIM software comprises computer programmers to carry out the following functions:

 Management Information System

 Marketing
 Finance
 Database Management
 Modeling and Design
 Analysis
 Simulation
 Communications
 Monitoring
 Production Control
 Manufacturing Area Control
 Job Tracking
 Inventory Control
 Shop Floor Data Collection
 Order Entry
 Manufacturing Facilities Planning
 Work Flow Automation
  Business Process Engineering
 Network Management
 Quality Management
12. Give some examples of Application software?

Application software which includes the programs for design analysis, simulation and synthesis,
tool design, process planning, enterprise resource planning, PDM, PLM, CNC programming,
computer aided inspection etc.

13. What are the popular devices for transferring digital data?
Some popular devices used for transferring digital devices are:

 Parallel interface
 Serial Rs 232 data link
 IEEE 488 interface bus
 USB port
 Modems
 Computer to computer communication
14. Neatly draw the model of Graphics software configuration?

The graphics software can be divided into three modules

Fig 6 the model of Graphics software configuration

 According to a conceptual model suggesting by foley and Van Dam:

 The graphics package

It is the software support between the user and the graphics terminal and it manages the graphics
interaction between the user and the system.it also serves as the interface between the user and the
application software.

The graphics packages consists of input subroutines and output subroutines

 The application program

The central module is the application program. It controls the storage of data into and retrieves
data out of the application data base

 The application data base

The data base contains mathematical, numerical, and logical definitions of the application models,
such as electronic circuits, mechanical components, automobile bodies, and so forth.

It also includes alphanumeric information associated with the models, such as bills of material,
mass properties, and other data.

The contents of the data base can be readily displayed on the CRT or plotted out in hard-copy
form.

15. What are the functions of GSC and explain?

 Generation of graphics elements: is a basic image entity such as a dot, line segment, circle
and so forth. The collection of the elements in the system could also include alphanumeric
characters and special symbols.
 Transformations: are used to change the image on the display screen and to reposition the
item in the database. Transformations are applied to the graphic elements in order to aid the
user in constructing an application model.

 Display control and windowing functions: This function set provides the user with the ability
to view the image from the desired angle and at the desired magnification. In effect, it makes
use of various transformations to display the application model the way the user wants it
 shown. This is sometimes referred to as windowing because the graphics screen is like a
window being used to observe the graphics model.
 Segmenting functions: Provides users with the capability to selectively replace, delete, or
otherwise modify portions of the image. The term “segment” refers to a particular portion of
the image which has been identified for purposes of modifying it. The segment may define a
single element or logical grouping of elements that can be modified as a unit.
 Assignment two

1. Discuss the stages in the product life cycle & the importance of each stage?

Products, like people, have life cycles. A product begins with an idea, and within the confines of
modern business, it isn't likely to go further until it undergoes research and development (R&D)
and is found to be feasible and potentially profitable. At that point, the product is produced,
marketed, and rolled out.

The life cycle of a product is broken into four stages—introduction, growth, maturity, and decline.
This concept is used by management and by marketing professionals as a factor in deciding when
it is appropriate to increase advertising, reduce prices, expand to new markets, or redesign
packaging.

 Introduction: This phase generally includes a substantial investment in advertising a nd a

marketing campaign focused on making consumers aware of the product and its benefits.
 Growth: If the product is successful, it then moves to the growth stage. This is characterized
by growing demand, an increase in production, and expansion in its availability.
 Maturity: This is the most profitable stage, while the costs of producing and marketing
decline.
 Decline: A product takes on increased competition as other companies emulate its
success—sometimes with enhancements or lower prices. The product may lose market
share and begin its decline.

When a product is successfully introduced into the market, demand increases, therefore increasing
its popularity. These newer products end up pushing older ones out of the market, effectively
replacing them. That's because the cost to produce and market the product drop.

2. Briefly explain about the sequential Engineering with neat diagram?

Sequential engineering

The traditional product development process at the prototype development stage is sequential. It
includes product design, development of manufacturing process and supporting quality and testing
activities, all carried out one after another. This situation assumes that there is no interaction among
 the major departments involved in product manufacturing during the initial development process.
Often the need for engineering changes is discovered during planning or manufacturing or
assembly.

Design department in a typical sequential product development process finalizes the design
without consulting the manufacturing, quality or purchase departments. Planning might feel it
necessary to request design changes based on a number of reasons like the procurement or facility
limitations. Changes in design may be called for when the manufacturing department is unable to
meet design specifications or there are problems in assembly. These changes are however to be
incorporated in design. The design documents are therefore sent back to the design department for
incorporating the changes

Fig 7 Across the wall approach in sequential engineering

Sequential Engineering is often called “across the wall” method. Figure illustrates the insulated
way each department may function in sequential approach.

3. Briefly explain about the concurrent Engineering?

Concurrent engineering

Concurrent engineering or Simultaneous Engineering is a methodology of restructuring the

product development activity in a manufacturing organization using a cross functional team
approach and is a technique adopted to improve the efficiency of product design and reduce the
product development cycle time. This is also sometimes referred to as Parallel Engineering.
 Concurrent Engineering brings together a wide spectrum of people from several functional areas
in the design and manufacture of a product.

Concurrent Engineering (CE) gives marketing and other groups the opportunity to review the
design during the modeling, prototyping and soft tooling phases of development. CAD systems
especially 3D modelers can play an important role in early product development phases. In fact,
they can become the core of the CE. They offer a visual check when design changes cost the least.

4. What is the difference between concurrent Engineering and sequential Engineering &
Briefly explain about the what basis divert of both Engineering?

A comparison of concurrent and sequential engineering based on cost

The distribution of the product development cost during the product development cycle is shown
in Fig below. This figure shows that though only about 15% of the budget is spent at the time of
design completion, whereas the remaining 85% is already committed. The decisions taken during
the design stage have an important bearing on the cost of the development of the product.
Therefore, the development cost and product cost can be reduced by proper and careful design. CE
facilitates this. The significantly large number of nonconformities detected in the later stages of
product development cycle in sequential engineering results in large time and cost overrun.

Fig 8 distribution of product development cost

5. How to implementation of concurrent Engineering?

IMPLEMENTATION OF CONCURRENT ENGINEERING

The cycle of engineering design and manufacturing planning involves interrelated activities in
different engineering disciplines simultaneously. In addition, the activities necessary to complete
a particular task within a specific engineering discipline have to emerge wherever possible from
their sequential flow into a concurrent workflow with a high degree of parallelism. Concurrency
implies that members of the multidisciplinary project team work in parallel. The multi-disciplinary
approach has the advantage of several inputs which can be focused effectively early in the design
process.

Presently engineering departments are practicing this approach but still with a high degree of
manual involvement and redundancy. Planning scenarios experience a similar approach. One of
the most critical links in the entire product life cycle, i.e. the close interaction between design and
manufacturing has been made possible in concurrent engineering. Thus, the product development
process has been freed from the large number of constraints arising from the limitations of the
sequential engineering. This has changed the way manufacturers bring the products to market.
Concurrent engineering is thus a cross functional approach to product design. Total quality
management which is being practiced by many companies is closely related to concurrent
engineering.
6. Explain about Design. Planning and simulation available for concurrent Engineering?

Concurrent Engineering (CE) gives marketing and other groups the opportunity to review the
design during the modeling, prototyping and soft tooling phases of development. CAD systems
especially 3D modelers can play an important role in early product development pha ses. In fact,
they can become the core of the CE. They offer a visual check when design changes cost the least.
Intensive teamwork between product development, production planning and manufacturing is
essential for satisfactory implementation of concurrent engineering. The teamwork also brings
additional advantages; the co-operation between various specialists and systematic application of
special methods such as QFD (Quality Function Deployment), 7 DFMA (Design for Manufacture
and Assembly) and FMEA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis) ensures quick optimization of
design and early detection of possible faults in product and production planning. This additionally
leads to reduction in lead time which reduces cost of production and guarantees better quality.

7. What are the different characteristics of concurrent Engineering?

CHARACTERISTICS OF CONCURRENT ENGINEERING

In concurrent engineering functional divisions like design, manufacturing and quality are
integrated in a compatible environment.

The concurrent engineering approach can be characterized by the following factors:

 Integration of product and process development and logistics support
 Closer attention to the needs of customers
 Adoption of new technologies
 Continuous review of design and development process
 Rapid and automated information exchange
 Cross functional teams
 Rapid prototyping
8. What are the different key factors influencing the success of Concurrent Engineering?

KEY FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SUCCESS OF CONCURRENT ENGINEERING

Introduction of the concurrent engineering approach requires consideration of several important

factors.
 CE can succeed if it comes from bottom up in the organization. If those at the bottom share the
concerns and agree that a problem exists, they are more likely to work together to solve it. In
addition, several problems are to be considered before introducing CE.

Despite the challenges a manufacturing company may meet, CE will result in considerable
reduction in product development time. It should be realized that it may take some time to make
the members of the team to work together.

There are several examples of successful implementation of CE. Hewlett Packard is one such
example. Its joint venture in Japan, Yokogawa Hewlett-Packard, reported amazing improvements
after implementing CE.

9. Briefly explain about Exchange of CAD data between software packages?

Necessity to translate drawings created in one drafting package to another often arises. For
example, you may have a CAD model created in PRO/E package and you may wish that this might
be transferred to I-DEAS or Unigraphics. It may also be necessary to transfer geometric data from
one software to another. This situation arises when you would want to carry out modeling in one
software, say PRO/E and analysis in software, say ANSYS. One method to meet this need is to
write direct translators from one software to another. This means that each system developer will
have to produce its own translators. This will necessitate a large number of translators. If we have
three software packages, we may require six translators among them. This is shown in Fig.

Fig 9 Direct data translation

 A solution to this problem of direct translators is to use neutral files. These neutral files will have
standard formats and software packages can have pre-processors to convert drawing data to neutral
file and postprocessors to convert neutral file data to drawing file.

10. List and describe various activities involved in product development

Step 1: Generating.

Step 2: Screening the Idea.

Step 3: Testing the Concept.

Step 4: Business Analytics.

Step 5: Beta / Marketability Tests.

Step 6: Technicalities + Product Development.

Step 7: Commercialize.

Step 8: Post Launch Review and Perfect Pricing.

11. Study an Industrial product and discuss how the product is evolved and perfected
continuously?

In this list two models for continuous improvement are explained, that are more recent
developments.

“Fail fast, fail forward”

This is about relentlessly moving towards better solutions by making and learning from mistakes
quickly, comfortable that as long as you are going in the right direction failures are simply steps
on the path to success.

It’s important to understand what it means: it’s not about failing with the big overarching ideas or
driving force behind your business, but about tinkering with the small things as you move towards
optimal solutions. The phrase has achieved some controversy in recent years, but it’s more the
semantics that have come in for criticism rather than the idea.
 Ultimately this phrase is underpinned by a belief that fearless exploration of new ideas in the right
no-blame culture yields innovative results. It’s not about chasing failure but learning
experientially.

“Perpetual beta”

Perpetual beta represents a mindset and strategy based on the continuous improvement principle
that a product, service or solution can never be perfect or completed.

It has its origins in software development where the preferred method for delivering software to
people has evolved from waiting until it’s as good as possible before shipping it out to customers
to shipping a product that is as viable as it needs to be and then, on receipt of constructive feedback,
improving it continuously to keep up with the evolving demands of customers. Nowadays the term
is used to describe any organization with a product or service that operates with a strong feedback
loop between customer and organization, where improvements are made and rolled out quickly,
and where the improve/test/review cycle guides how improvements are made.

12. What are the drawbacks of sequential Engineering in handling design change requests?

Rigid Design Process

Sequential models have an assembly-line rigidity that tends to stifle design creativity by limiting
the input of the different design groups to their particular stage in the sequence of development.
Rapid Application Development models were designed to develop products more quickly in the
conceptual stage, utilizing focus groups and workshops to make refinements to prototypes earlier
in the development process.

Flexibility is severely limited in sequential product development because it is restricted to its linear
organization. Flexibility in the development process enables designers to adapt to the marketplace
during the development process.

13. How will concurrent Engineering will help to reduce product development time?

Time compression in product development is an important issue today. Concurrent engineering

reduces the product development time significantly as the preparatory work in all downstream
 functions can take place concurrently with design. Elimination of the errors in design appreciably
reduces the possibility of time overrun, enabling the development schedule to be maintained.

14. How does Information Technology (IT) facilitate concurrent Engineering?

The challenge to engineering information systems today is to have the ability to handle very large
amount of data and information which the engineering organizations have to cope with. Design
changes, status reviews, releases and their effects on cost, delivery and quality have to be managed.
It has to be made sure that the workplace of each engineer, planner and manager is not overloaded
so as to make the work ineffective.
 Assignment three

1. Explain about Evolution of CIM?

Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) is considered a natural evolution of the technology of

CAD/CAM which by itself evolved by the integration of CAD and CAM. Massachusetts Institute
of Technology (MIT, USA) is credited with pioneering the development in both CAD and CAM.

If we review the manufacturing scenario during 80's we will find that the manufacturing is
characterized by a few islands of automation. In the case of design, the task is well automated. In
the case of manufacture, CNC machines, DNC systems, FMC, FMS etc. provide tightly controlled
automation systems. Similarly, computer control has been implemented in several areas like
manufacturing resource planning, accounting, sales, marketing and purchase. Yet the full potential
of computerization could not be obtained unless all the segments of manufacturing are integrated,
permitting the transfer of data across various functional modules. This realization led to the
concept of computer integrated manufacturing. Thus, the implementation of CIM required the
development of whole lot of computer technologies related to hardware and software.

2. Neatly draw the CIM Wheel?

3. List & describe various CIM hardware & CIM software?

Hardware consists of the various types of computers like personal computers, (PCs), graphics
workstations, input devices like mouse, keyboard and digitizer and output devices like plotter and
printer.

Computer software includes:

o The operating system which controls the basic house-keeping operations in a computer.
o Software packages used for conceptual design like Alias and for geometric modelling like solid
modelling (Solid Works, Unigraphics, CATIA, Pro/Engineer etc.).

4. What the major elements are in CIM system with briefly explain with neat sketch?

Nine major elements of a CIM system are in Figure 2 they are,

Marketing: The need for a product is identified by the marketing division. The specifications of
the product, the projection of manufacturing quantities and the strategy for marketing the product
are also decided by the marketing department. Marketing also works out the manufacturing costs
to assess the economic viability of the product.
Product Design: The design department of the company establishes the initial database for
production of a proposed product. In a CIM system this is accomplished through activities such as
geometric modeling and computer aided design while considering the product requirements and
concepts generated by the creativity of the design engineer.

Planning: The planning department takes the database established by the design department and
enriches it with production data and information to produce a plan for the production of the
product. Planning involves several subsystems dealing with materials, facility, process, tools,
manpower, capacity, scheduling, outsourcing, assembly, inspection, logistics etc. In a CIM system,
this planning process should be constrained by the production costs and by the production
equipment and process capability, in order to generate an optimized plan.

Purchase: The purchase departments is responsible for placing the purchase orders and follow up,
ensure quality in the production process of the vendor, receive the items, arrange for inspection
and supply the items to the stores or arrange timely delivery depending on the production schedule
for eventual supply to manufacture and assembly.

Manufacturing Engineering: Manufacturing Engineering is the activity of carrying out the

production of the product, involving further enrichment of the database with performance data and
information about the production equipment and processes. In CIM, this requires activities like
CNC programming, simulation and computer aided scheduling of the production activity. This
should include online dynamic scheduling and control based on the real time performance of the
equipment and processes to assure continuous production activity. Often, the need to meet
fluctuating market demand requires the manufacturing system flexible and agile.

Factory Automation Hardware: Factory automation equipment further enriches the database with
equipment and process data, resident either in the operator or the equipment to carry out the
production process. In CIM system this consists of computer-controlled process machinery such
as CNC machine tools, flexible manufacturing systems (FMS), Computer controlled robots,
material handling systems, computer-controlled assembly systems, flexibly automated inspection
systems and so on.

Warehousing: Warehousing is the function involving storage and retrieval of raw materials,
components, finished goods as well as shipment of items. In today's complex outsourcing scenario
 and the need for just-in-time supply of components and subsystems, logistics and supply chain
management assume great importance.

Finance: Finance deals with the resources pertaining to money. Planning of investment, working
capital, and cash flow control, realization of receipts, accounting and allocation of funds are the
major tasks of the finance departments.

Information Management: Information Management is perhaps one of the crucial tasks in CIM.
This involves master production scheduling, database management, communication,
manufacturing systems integration and management information systems.

5. Briefly explain about the NIST-AMRF Hierarchical model with neat diagram?

THE NIST - AMRF HIERARCHICAL MODEL

At National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, Germany), an Advanced Manufacturing

Research Facility (AMRF) was built and operated to work out the hardware and software standards
for computer-controlled manufacturing system. A hierarchical computer and sensor system are
assumed to plan and control the manufacturing operations.

The model consists of three columns, a management information system, a control system and a
design and planning system (Fig. below).
6. Briefly explain about the SIEMENS Model of CIM with neat diagram?

THE SIEMENS MODEL OF CIM

The Siemens model of CIM comprises the main functions of planning, sales, purchasing,
production planning and control, computer aided design, computer aided quality control and
computer aided manufacture interconnected by intensive information flow.

In order to be able to process the data in a comprehensive manufacturing system, a hierarchical

model of an enterprise is used. Each hierarchical level has its own data processing requirements
and there exists a steady flow of instructions from the upper levels to the lower ones. In order to
control and synchronize parallel activities on each level, an intensive horizontal data flow takes
place. Siemens model also incorporates a Computer Aided Organization (CAO), which comprises
accounting, personnel and finance.

7. Briefly explain about the CIM model of Digital Equipment Corporation?

THE CIM MODEL OF DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION

 For the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) CIM is the improvement of a manufacturing
processes with the aid of the computer and the integration of the information processing of all
enterprise activities. The entire control system is divided into functional modules, which reflect
the business and the data. CIM design starts with the analysis of all manufacturing activities and
identifies their functions and data flow.

8. What are the different key factors influencing the success of Concurrent Engineering?

Introduction of the concurrent engineering approach requires consideration of several important

factors.

CE can succeed if it comes from bottom up in the organization. If those at the bottom share the
concerns and agree that a problem exists, they are more likely to work together to solve it. In
addition, several problems are to be considered before introducing CE.

Despite the challenges a manufacturing company may meet, CE will result in considerable
reduction in product development time. It should be realized that it may take some time to make
the members of the team to work together.
 There are several examples of successful implementation of CE. Hewlett Packard is one such
example. Its joint venture in Japan, Yokogawa Hewlett-Packard, reported amazing improvements
after implementing CE. Over a five-year period, R & D’s cycle time decreased by 35%,
manufacturing costs declined 42%, inventory dropped 64% and field failure rates fell by 60%.
Meanwhile its market share tripled and profits doubled.

9. What are the present scenarios in the Manufacturing industries have to deal with a number
of challenging issues to day?

The manufacturing industries have to deal with a number of challenging issues to day. Some of
them are:

 Rising customer expectations: Customers demand more and more customized products of
higher functionality and quality and short delivery times.
 Globalization: Trade barriers between countries are fast disappearing. The consequent
globalization of the market introduces considerable challenges.
 Developments in technology: New technologies make processes and products obsolete
faster than ever.
 Access to information: The Internet has made it possible to access information from any
part of the world quickly. This provides both opportunities as well as challenges. This also
enables every one access to the latest technology.
 Environmental concerns: As more and more countries develop industrially, there is more
and more pressure on the environment and the raw materials.
 Intense competition: The emerging scenario is that of intense competition among
manufacturing companies.
10. Briefly explain about the overview of Robot Technology? (Chapter 4, Note: in 3 pages).

Robotics is an interdisciplinary research area at the interface of computer science and engineering.
Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to
design intelligent machines that can help and assist humans in their day-to-day lives and keep
everyone safe. Robotics draws on the achievement of information engineering, computer
engineering, mechanical engineering, electronic engineering and others.
Robotics develops machines that can substitute for humans and replicate human actions. Robots
can be used in many situations and for many purposes, but today many are used in dangerous
environments (including inspection of radioactive materials, bomb detection and deactivation),
manufacturing processes, or where humans cannot survive (e.g. in space, underwater, in high heat,
and clean up and containment of hazardous materials and radiation). Robots can take on any form
but some are made to resemble humans in appearance. This is said to help in the acceptance of a
robot in certain replicative behaviors usually performed by people. Such robots attempt to replicate
walking, lifting, speech, cognition, or any other human activity. Many of today's robots are inspired
by nature, contributing to the field of bio-inspired robotics.

The concept of creating robots that can operate autonomously dates back to classical times, but
research into the functionality and potential uses of robots did not grow substantially until the 20th
century. Throughout history, it has been frequently assumed by various scholars, inventors,
engineers, and technicians that robots will one day be able to mimic human behavior and manage
tasks in a human-like fashion. Today, robotics is a rapidly growing field, as technological advances
continue; researching, designing, and building new robots serve various practical purposes,
whether domestically, commercially, or militarily. Many robots are built to do jobs that are
hazardous to people, such as defusing bombs, finding survivors in unstable ruins, and exploring
mines and shipwrecks. Robotics is also used in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics) as a teaching aid.

Robotics is a branch of engineering that involves the conception, design, manufacture, and
operation of robots. This field overlaps with computer engineering, computer science (especially
artificial intelligence), electronics, mechatronics, mechanical, nanotechnology and bioengineering.

Robot is an automatically controlled material handling unit that is widely used in the
manufacturing industry. It is generally used for high volume production and better quality.
Implementation of robot technology with integration of automatic system can contribute to
increasing of productivity of the company and enhances the profitability of the company.
INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS

The industry continues to grow and expand. Currently, there are approximately thirty robot
manufacturers in the United States and over five hundred worldwide. The annual growth rate of
the industry is approximately 36 percent per year, and continued market expansion is expected.
RIA estimates that annual sales volumes for 1998 will be in the $2 billion range; for the year 2000
it is predicted to be about $7 billion. Spot-welding still remains the largest application area for
robots today.

Competitive forces are beginning to segment the market with many manufacturers focusing on
specific industries or applications. This specialization approach will speed technological
advancements and enhance robot capabilities in specific areas. More attention is being paid lately
by manufacturers to sensor integration. More and more robots are sold with standard or optional
capabilities, such as vision and tactile sensors and even fuzzy logic controls.

The development of the industrial robot represents a logical evolution of automated equipment,
combining certain features of fixed automation and human labor. Robots can be thought of as
specialized machine tools with a degree of flexibility that distinguishes them from fixed-purpose
automation. By the addition of sensory devices, robots are gaining the ability to adapt to their work
environment and modify their actions based on work-condition variations. Industrial robots are
becoming "smarter" mechanical workers and are now widely accepted as valuable productivity-
improvement tools.

Industrial robots are properly thought of as machines or mechanical arms. It is inappropriate to

think of them as mechanical people. A robot is essentially a mechanical arm that is bolted to the
floor, a machine, the ceiling, or, in some cases, the wall, fitted with its mechanical hand, and taught
to do repetitive tasks in a controlled, ordered environment. In most cases, it possesses neither the
ability to move about the plant nor the ability to see or feel the part it is working on. Exceptions to
these general rules exist in certain instances. However, even with these limitations, robots make
outstanding contributions toward the improvement of manufacturing operations. Robots fill the
gap between the specialized and limited capabilities normally associated with fixed automation
and the extreme flexibility of human labor.
ROBOT COMPONENTS

A robot, as a system, consists of the following elements, which are integrated together to form a
whole:

Manipulator, or rover This is the main body of the robot and consists of the links, the joints, and
other structural elements of the robot. Without other elements, the manipulator alone is not a robot.

End effector This is the part that is connected to the last joint (hand) of a manipulator, which
generally handles objects, makes connection to other machines, or performs the required tasks.
Robot manufacturers generally do not design or sell end effectors. In most cases, all they supply
is a simple gripper. Generally, the hand of a robot has provisions for connecting specialty end
effectors that are specifically designed for a purpose. This is the job of a company’s engineers or
outside consultants to design and install the end effector on the robot and to make it work for the
given situation. A welding torch, a paint spray gun, a glue-laying device, and a parts handler are
but a few of the possibilities. In most cases, the action of the end effector is either controlled by
the robot’s controller, or the controller communicates with the end effector’s controlling device
(such as a PLC).

Actuators are the “muscles” of the manipulators. Common types of actuators are servomotors,
stepper motors, pneumatic cylinders, and hydraulic cylinders. Actuators are controlled by the
controller.

Sensors are used to collect information about the internal state of the robot or to communicate
with the outside environment. As in humans, the robot controller needs to know where each link
of the robot is in order to know the robot’s configuration. Even in absolute darkness, you still know
where your arms and legs are! This is because feedback sensors in your central nervous system
embedded in your muscle tendons send information to your brain. The brain uses this information
to determine the length of your muscles, and thus, the state of your arms, legs, etc. The same is
true for robots; sensors integrated into the robot send information about each joint or link to the
controller, which determines the configuration of the robot. Robots are often equipped with
external sensory devices such as a vision system, touch and tactile sensors, speech synthesizers,
etc., which enable the robot to communicate with the outside world.
Controller is rather similar to your cerebellum, and although it does not have the power of your
brain, it still controls your motions. The controller receives its data from the computer, controls
the motions of the actuators, and coordinates the motions with the sensory feedback information.
Suppose that in order for the robot to pick up a part from a bin, it is necessary that its first joint be
at 36°. If the joint is not already at this magnitude, the controller will send a signal to the actuator
(a current to an electric motor, air to a pneumatic cylinder, or a signal to a hydraulic servo valve),
causing it to move. It will then measure the change in the joint angle through the feedback sensor
attached to the joint (a potentiometer, an encoder, etc.). When the joint reaches the desired value,
the signal is stopped. In more sophisticated robots, the velocity and the force exerted by the robot
are also controlled by the controller.

Processor is brain of the robot. It calculates the motions of the robot’s joints, determines how
much and how fast each joint must move to achieve the desired location and speeds, and oversees
the coordinated actions of the controller and the sensors. The processor is generally a computer,
which works like all other computers, but is dedicated to a single purpose. It requires an operating
system, programs, peripheral equipment such as monitors, and has many of the same limitations
and capabilities of a PC processor.

Software There are perhaps three groups of software that are used in a robot. One is the operating
system, which operates the computer. The second is the robotic software, which calculates the
necessary motions of each joint based on the kinematic equations of the robot. This information is
sent to the controller. This software may be at many different levels, from machine language to
sophisticated languages used by modern robots. The third group is the collection of routines and
application programs that are developed in order to use the peripheral devices of the robots, such
as vision routines, or to perform specific tasks. It is important to note that in many systems, the
controller and the processor are placed in the same unit. Although these two units are in the same
box, and even if they are integrated into the same circuit, they have two separate functions.