Innovative Production Machines and Systems Conference - Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems

Single Vehicle Routing in Reconfigurable Manufacturing Environments Using the Bump-Surface Concept

xidias — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 13:00:40 +0100

This paper presents a new approach for solving a generalization of the vehicle routing with pickup and delivery problem (VRPDP) for an automatic guided vehicle (AGV) moving in a 2D rapidly changing shop floor environment. Rabid changes are assumed to occur in the facilities layout of the shop floor, such as in the shape, size and location of (the obstacles) corridors, walls, machines, furniture, etc., as well as, changes in the positions of the pickup and delivery (P/D) stations. The problem to be faced is thereby a dual NP-hard combinatorial problem combining the characteristics and constraints of a motion planning problem (MPP) and VRPDP.

Analysis of competitive localized-incremental forging processes

amcamacho — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:17:48 +0100

Localized and incremental forming processes (LIFP) are presented as a new and competitive approach of forging processes. Based on the use of tools with simple shapes and small relative size, LIFP can be used to form a workpiece by the concatenation of isolated operations throughout the forming volume. In conventional compression processes the flow of information is mainly restricted to design and manufacturing of dies. However, in LIFP the most important flow of information is focused on the own process. In this work, a particular LIFP is analyzed by numerical simulation and the results are compared to those obtained in a conventional upsetting process. Results show some advantages of this new approach opposite to conventional one, such as the maximum required force in LIFP is lower than in upsetting, and that optimized trajectories should be defined by means of intelligent algorithms in order to reach more competitive processes.

Model and heuristics for scheduling in reconfigurable manufacturing environments

Ricardo Galan — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:17:48 +0100

Nowadays, reconfigurable manufacturing systems are gaining research attention. Most of this research is focused on the development of reconfigurable machines, while less attention is paid to the working of the production system. This research aims at the development of a mathematical model for selecting the best set of product families and their production scheduling, from several sets of different possibilities, in the presence of alternative routeings for reconfigurable manufacturing. The model is tested with a batch of real problems from the literature. Besides, some heuristics have been de

Virtual Area Networks

Meo — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:17:46 +0100

The Virtual Area Network (VAN) project will provide innovative solutions, extensions and standards dedicated to industrial environments, to fill the existing gap between office communication technologies and industrial automation technology, focused on a new dimension of uniform networking of production and manufacturing processes. It will define the base of international industry plant management, advanced control and service concepts. The objectives will be achieved by a merging of existing and emerging IST and automation standards covering embedded architectures, fieldbus technologies, Ethe