A THIN, HARDWARE-SUPPORTED MIDDLEWARE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR RECONFIGURABLE MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

The reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS) paradigm was introduced in response to the need for a manufacturing environment that can handle high-frequency market-driven change. Although this has resulted in much research into the implementation of such a system, there is currently a gap in the tec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:South African journal of industrial engineering 2015-05, Vol.26 (1), p.207-223
Main Authors: McLean, Roscoe Roy Peter, Padayachee, Jared, Bright, Glen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Engineering, Industrial
Flexible manufacturing systems
Middleware
Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS) paradigm was introduced in response to the need for a manufacturing environment that can handle high-frequency market-driven change. Although this has resulted in much research into the implementation of such a system, there is currently a gap in the technology covering the rapid establishment of control after a reconfiguration. This gap involves the detection of the factory floor's state, and the communication link between the factory floor and the high-level software (ERP and MES). This paper proposes a thin, hardware-supported middleware management system to support the reconfiguration process and to support industrial implementation to the RMS paradigm.
ISSN:1012-277X
2224-7890
2224-7890
DOI:10.7166/26-1-1034