Design of a graphical user interface (GUI) between a PC-based CAD system and a flexible assembly robotic cell

In today's highly competitive business environment the prospect of high stable product demand has long vanished. World class manufacturing companies constantly adapt their products to respond to, and even anticipate, their customers' ever increasing needs. This shortening of a product's life means that manufacturing systems in factories of the future will require a high degree of flexibility. This can be achieved by better process and data integration in accordance to CIM principles. An illustration of this can be found in the development of flexible, adaptable and intelligent robots. Progress has been made in utilising CAD as a source of knowledge for robotic vision and assembly. However, the proposed systems have not, until now, been suitable for straight implementation on the shop floor. To be successful in an industrial environment, such a system, in addition to its technical capabilities, will also need to be accessible and usable by operators as well as engineers. GUIs have demonstrated their efficiency in terms of user-friendliness, ease of use and learnability, while choosing a PC as the host widens the scope of its implementation to small and medium-sized companies. This paper attempts to address the issues raised by the design of the interface regarding its functionality and ergonomics, and by its development using an object-oriented programming language.