Development of a Flexible Manufacturing Cell

The actual need for rising the productivity and flexibility of the manufacturing systems requires the use of new technologies and methodologies. Particularly, Flexible Manufacturing Cells (FMC) are the field where better results can be obtained. FMC are highly adaptable to changes in the market and in the product, due to their flexibility. This flexibility only is possible if we use programmable equipment and control it in a real-time fashion. The programmability must be understood in terms of processing equipment, materials handling equipment, use of tools (with the possibility of automatic tool changing, ATC), and the storing equipment. In a competitive market, where the product lifetime is smaller and smaller, the use of FMC is of a crucial importance. This paper describes the implementation and operation of a FMC in the Institute of Systems and Robotics of the University of Coimbra, Portugal. The objectives of this project were to show the potentialities of such flexible system and a mean to introduce the production systems to the university students. The FMC is composed by a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) milling machine, a CNC lathe, two robots manipulators, two sliding bars for the robots, a conveyer belt, two raw material stores, a buffer, an alarm system, a packing system, and a supervisory computer. A package of software, “WinATS”, was developed in order to overcome the limitations of the robot’s manufacturer software. The implemented cell has the ability to process different parts in a random way as well as processing new parts. The possibility of processing new parts is assured by the use of a CAD/CAM system. Tests of typical tasks, such as machining, material handling, storing and automatic packing, were performed on the FMC. All the operations on the FMC work in an integrated fashion. The system architecture allows the necessary information flux for command and supervision of all developed activities. Task coordination, synchronization and integration is performed by the developed software. Key-Words: Flexible Manufacturing Cells (FMC), Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing (CAD/CAM), Computer Numerical Control (CNC), Robot, Machine-tools.