Intelligent Manufacturing € February € 1996 € Vol. 2 € No. 2
Intelligent Manufacturing € February € 1996 € Vol. 2
€ No. 2
The Lincoln Logs Factory of the Future, developed by the
University of Massachusetts Lowell Center for Productivity
Enhancement, combines computer-aided design (CAD), robotic assembly
and multimedia communications into one automated, working
manufacturing system. The automated factory will be featured at the
National Manufacturing Week show next month in Chicago, Ill. (see
Calendar).
The Lincoln Log Factory uses a VAXstation workstation, two small
robots and a child's toy to make its point as it integrates roughly
80% of the tasks that take place in a typical factory. According to
Patrick Krolak, director of UMass's Lowell Center, "The future of
productivity involves the integration of design engineering,
manufacturing, distribution and management processes. The Lincoln Log
Factory of the Future was conceived as a test bed and demonstration
of this concept."
Users don't need to be programmers to build a house at the Lincoln
Log Factory. Small, medium and large logs, gables and roof planks can
be selected by clicking a mouse on icons seen on the screen of the
workstation. At each stage in the design process, the CAD system
offers only those choices that would make the structure stable, and
therefore manufacturable.
When the design is finished, the building process is simulated on the
workstation screen, rendering a 3-D color picture of the completed
house. If the designer likes what he sees, the computer will
determine the best way to build the house and will write factory
specifications which appear on the screen in English sentences.
The building instructions are relayed to the factory work cell, a
collection of machines designed to carry out a set of related
functions. The computer scheduler provides the instructions to the
integrated parts beginning with the bin feeder that works with
pneumatics to feed different size parts to the robotic arms. From
there, two robots begin construction, adjusting the logs after they
are placed to make sure the notches fit, positioning the gables
properly and adding the planks to the top.
Cameras and lasers in the factory provide feedback to the robots'
machine vision system. This means that the robots are constantly
comparing what the CAD/CAM program says they should be seeing with
what they actually are seeing and allows them to make necessary
corrections. The robotic system is self-correcting and intelligent
enough to solve most problems, making it possible to continue
manufacturing even when faced with discrepancies. For example, if a
machine jams or a human hand reaches in to take a critical log from
the chute, one robot will help its companion by reaching over with
the needed log from its own supply.
An intelligent scheduling system assigns tasks to the robots and
keeps them from colliding while they work cooperatively. Any time an
error is detected, the robots automatically send a message to the
centralized controller cell, indicating there is a problem, offering
a self-diagnosis and proceeding with a correction, if available.
For more information on National Manufacturing Week, contact Reed
Exhibition, (203) 840-5878, , e-mail:
[email protected]