MACHINE TOOLS AS WEB-ENABLED
APPLIANCES
Very
few manufacturers have ever considered the result of machine tools as web-enabled
appliances on the factory floor. In many cases, CNC machine tools are not used
to their fullest potential; they act as stand-alone islands of technology. They
are:
-
Made
to run only part programs well
-
Cut
off from the management information system
-
Mostly
closed embedded systems
Giving
every machine tool a hardware and software upgrade to permit it to host
Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, shatters the wall between the factory floor,
and the world that depends upon it, Fig. 10-7-3.
Fig. 10-7-3
A worldwide manufacturing
network. (Delmia Corp. Inc.)
The
technology of networking machine tools over the Internet has been around,
Web-wise since the mid 1990s. Through what is called InterNetworking
,
hardware
and software technology (either direct OEM or aftermarket) turns machine tool
controls into Web severs. Each has its own unique Web address and complete
communicative functionality. Once so equipped, machine tools are integrated
into the supply chain, in ways limited only by the manufacturing imagination.
Any process that contributes to a machine tool’s effectiveness and productivity
- monitoring, diagnostics, repair, planned maintenance, training, customer
service, inventory control, warranty issues - can see dramatic efficiency
improvements within the InterNetwork.
A machine tool as a node becomes a Web
appliance that connects the point of production to management’s information
system - the supply and demand chains - in real time, Fig. 10-7-4. Just as E-mail
has dramatically changed the way we communicate, e-Manufacturing will maintain
a rapid rate of change while leveraging the investment that industry has made
in automation and people.
Fig. 10-7-4
CNC machine tools become Web
appliances on an InterNetworking network.
To
quote from a Survey Report: “The largest reservoir of untapped operational
information is locked in the machine tools on the manufacturing floor.” Using
open architecture CNCs in a plant is fundamental in gaining a competitive
advantage. Open architecture CNCs, tied into the information technology mix, is
equally important in optimizing production in both job shops and
high-production lines.