A FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING CELL (FMC) HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED WITH ADAPTIVE CAPABILITIES TO PROCESS MULTIPLE PART-CONFIGURATIONS. THE CELL INCORPORATES A CNC TURNING CENTER. PART RECOGNITION IS REALIZED OPTICALLY, WHILE A MODULAR CONVEYOR SYSTEM AFFORDS MATERIAL TRANSFER TO AND FROM THE MANUFACTURING CELL. A PUMA ROBOT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PART LOADING, UNLOADING, AND TRANSFER BETWEEN MACHINES. OVERALL CELL CONTROL IS HANDLED BY AN IBM-COMPATICLE 386 PC. SUBCELL MONITORS HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED THROUGH THE USE OF SEVERAL PCL CONTROLLERS. AN ADAPTIVE PNEUMATIC VISE WITH CONFORMABLE JAWS IS USED TO RETAIN BLANKS WITH DISSIMILAR GEOMETRIES, INCLUDING SINGLE AND DOUBLE CURATURE PROFILES. DURING MACHINING, THUS OBLIVIATING THE USE OF CUSTOMER SOFT JAWS, AND THE ASSOCIATED SETUP TIME. MANY OF THE CNC CONTROL PANEL FUNCTIONS, OTHERWISE AVAILABLE ONLY TO THE MACHINE OPERATOR DURING MANUAL OPERATION, HAVE
| Number of Pages : | 12 |
| Published : | 06/01/1991 |
