A flexible computer integrated manufacturing system

A flexible computer integrated manufacturing (FCIM) work cell to be used as a tool for advanced research in manufacturing automation at Wright State University (WSU) is described. The concept of the FCIM work cell and some of the work that has been performed at WSU towards the development of the FCIM work cell are discussed. The conveyor system, robot units, vision system, sensor system, and multitasking/multiprocessor computer system are also discussed. The successful prototyping of this modular testbed, which is capable of performing the entire production cycle for a variety of small-lot (including one-of) discrete products, will enable human interaction to be limited to the product design phase.<
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