Manufacturing Communication: DCOM-MMS-based Approach for Flexible Manufacturing System

A design approach of manufacturing communication is presented for flexible manufacturing system in this paper. The primary objective aims at making the flexible manufacturing control system provided with interoperability and reconfigurability. Based on describing manufacturing message specification (MMS) and distributed component object model (DCOM), a client/server manufacturing communication model is built with MMS standard and DCOM middleware, and the communication interfaces between MMS client and MMS server are designed with Microsoft interface definition language (MIDL) and abstract syntax notation one (ASN.1) of MMS services. As a result, DCOM and MMS integration leads to such client/ server communication capabilities independent of different operating systems and manufacturing devices in flexible manufacturing automation environment. Finally, to verify the new design approach, a prototype system of robot control system has been implemented in MS 2000 Server/Professional Operating System and VC++ 6.0 Developer Environments.

A Techno-Economic Paradigm Perspective on the ＇Third Industrial Revolution＇ and China＇s Strategies in Response

Built on artificial intelligence, digitalization, and information technologies, the ＂Third Industrial Revolution ＂＂ transforms large-scale assembly lines and flexible manufacturing system with fundamental modern manufacturing technologies and features personalized manufacturing, which is enabled by reconfigurable manufacturing system, and quick market response. It is a profound transformation of techno-economic paradigms, imbedded in the technology, management, and institutional systems. As this revolution deepens, it is likely that manufacturing and the manufacturing sector would acquire new definitions. In addition, the resource foundation and factor structure, which are central to the competitiveness of a nation and an enterprise, would perhaps be reconfigured, hence rewriting the landscape of global industrial competition. Under this scenario, the ＂smiling curve ＇＂ which used to portray the economic features of the value chain, may change into a ＂silence curve＂ or even ＂sadness curve ＂. The catching- up pathway of latecomer countries, as predicted by the traditional ＇flying geese model＂, is likely to be blocked, solidifying the division of＂core and periphery countries＂ which is unfavorable to developing countries. Industrial competition between countries would move from competition between enterprises and supply chains to competition in industrial ecosystems, matdng system adaptability and dynamics the key to long-term industrial competitiveness. As an effort to embrace the ＂Third Industrial Revolution＂ and meet the challenges brought by ＂multi-facets competition＂ with developed industrial nations in various links of value chain, in the future China should make appropriate adjustments in its strategies for economic transition and upgrading, global competition, technological innovation, industrial development and information technology.

Interaction of Units and Research Methods of Control Performances of Distributed Manufacturing Information System

In order to analyze the function demand of the distributed manufacturing information system as well as its control demand, and eliminate information ambiguity among system units to integrate semantics, the abstract Agent model and computational structure of each unit was presented based on flexible coupling automata. The autonomy of each unit was investigated in this foundation. The system unit was described using the Web Ontology Language (OWL) ontology. And the system semantics was also integrated. On these basics the communication among the system units was analyzed with an example of interaction between a machine and a warehouse. The control performances of information system units were investigated using Boolean matrix as a substitute for traditional process in RW theory, which reduced the computational complexity. This work established the foundation for the demand analysis, design and development of the distributed manufacture information system.

NEQM （NFC Based Equipment Qualification Management） System Preventing Counterfeit and Fraudulent Item

Qualification of equipment essential to safety in NPPs （nuclear power plants） ensures its capability to perform designated safety functions on demand under postulated service conditions. However, a number of incidents identified by the NRC （Nuclear Regulatory Commission） since 1980s catalysed the US nuclear industry to adopt standard precautions to guard against counterfeit items. The purpose of this paper is to suggest the NFC （near field communication） based equipment qualification management system preventing counterfeit and fraudulent items. The NEQM （NFC based equipment qualification management） system works with the support of legacy systems such as PMS （procurement management system） and FMS （facility management system）.

Design and Implementation of Distributed Numerical Control in Flexible Manufacturing System

To monitor, control and manage the work process of computer numerical control machine tools in a flexible manufacturing system (FMS) effectively, the distributed numerical coutrol (distributed-NC) software should be innovated with the characteristics of modularization and reconfiguration. In this paper, firstly, distributed-NC functions in the FMS environment are described. Then, we present a design and development method of the real time distributed-NC that is on the basis of the re-coufigurable software and hardware platform and with an object-oriented model concept. Finally, to verify the proposed method, the distributed-NC software has been implemented in VC++ 6.0 and has been tested in connection with the different physical flexible manufacturing shops.