Object-Oriented Modeling of Complex Mechatronic Components for the Manufacturing Industry

The advantages of object-oriented modeling, as modularity and reusability of components, are very important not only for software development but also for modeling manufacturing systems. Recently, a unified object-oriented approach for modeling both the logical and the physical part of a manufacturing machine has been proposed. In this paper, we show the effectiveness of this new modeling framework on an industrial application. The case study consists of the package forming unit of a filling machine for liquid food packaging, developed by Tetra Pak Carton Ambient S.p.A.     

AI-based generation of production engineering labor standards

Increased automation of manufacturing is necessary to compete in today's worldwide markets. The role of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques for incorporating the automation with changing manufacturing environments needs to be investigated. AI techniques can assist in meeting the challenge of transforming shop floor production engineering data into appropriate production engineering labor standards in a timely, consistent, and cost effective manner. Production heuristics can be incorporated into an expert system that can learn from the changing manufacturing environment. This paper presents a prototype expert system which transfers the knowledge of experienced methods engineers into a rule-based system to develop the appropriate job elements and standard times for each engineering task. Manufacturing data taken from a leading US company are used for the testing and validation of the prototype system. The prototype system demonstrated the applicability of automated generation of knowledge transfer to the decomposition of the job into tasks. Further implications of the automated systems are discussed     

On managing the human factors engineering of hybrid productionsystems

In the transition toward total automation, contemporary manufacturing systems are predominantly composed of production equipment that is neither completely manual or automated. The development of these systems, identified as hybrid production systems, employ and integrate the capacities of human operators with intelligent machines. It is argued that human activities in hybrid automated systems are critical in achieving productivity gains. Given this importance, hybrid systems must be designed to optimize production. Optimal human factors engineering is possible only when engineers and their management are aware of the technical challenges, created by hybrid systems, and the range of options available for meeting these challenges. The authors describe these challenges and their possible solutions, specifically targeted to the management of engineering and technology-based organizations     

The MMST computer-integrated manufacturing system framework

Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) is the harmonious connection, integration, and interoperation of automation equipment within a manufacturing facility. In a semiconductor wafer fab, this includes integration of the processing equipment with all of the supporting systems for product and process specification, production planning and scheduling, and material handling and tracking. Traditionally, CIM systems have been characterized as monolithic mainframe-based systems and/or inflexible islands of automation with limited interoperability. Today's manufacturing demands fully integrated dynamic systems which directly support the concepts of lean, flexible and agile manufacturing to high quality standards. These requirements drove the design of a new CIM system which was developed for the Microelectronics Manufacturing Science and Technology (MMST) program. This paper provides an overview of the MMST CIM system framework which is based on open distributed system and object technologies. The CIM system was demonstrated in a 1000 wafer pilot production run in 1993 which achieved world record cycle time, and is now being commercialized as part of the WORKS product family from Texas Instruments     

工业自动化仪表的应用与展望

随着市场经济的发展及工业化进程的加快,自动化仪表在工业领域得到广泛应用,并已成为工业生产制造与检测的重要工具,而微电子技术、计算机网络与通信技术等日新月异的发展又促使自动化仪表出现深刻变革.文章通过分析工业自动化仪表的分类及应用情况,提出其总线化、网络化、数字化、智能化发展趋势.     

以技术创新推动晶体硅太阳能电池智慧生产线建设

综述了晶体硅太阳能电池生产线的技术现状,并结合晶体硅电池技术的未来发展方向,分析了晶体硅太阳能电池生产线技术的发展趋势,认为创新工艺及设备、高产能及高效自动化、监控与决策智能化是未来晶体硅太阳能电池生产线的三大主要特征,在此基础上,提出了一种晶体硅太阳能电池智慧生产线,简要介绍了其结构组成,特点及实现。1     

Engineering insights from an anthropocentric cyber-physical system: A case study for an assembly station

To effectively cope with the complexity of manufacturing control problems the cyber-physical systems are engineered to work in the social space. Therefore the research in the field of cyber-physical systems needs to address social aspects when this concept is adopted in factory automation. The paper argues for an anthropocentric cyber-physical reference model as the basic decomposition unit for the design of distributed manufacturing control systems. The model assimilates all the required components (i.e. physical, computational and human) of a synthetic hybrid system in an integrated way. This is due to the real need to design cyber-physical production systems where the technological advances are merging their functionalities in a way more and more difficult to distinctly draw between the physical, computational and human components. If this view is almost obvious for advanced technologies, such as brain computer interfaces, controlled assistive robots and intelligent prostheses, it is equally true even for simple automated systems, like context-aware assistive systems that are built with state-of-the-art technologies. This assertion is demonstrated in the context of the SmartFactory^KL production system, where the manual assembly station exhibits all the key features of an anthropocentric cyber-physical system by employing a seamless augmented reality to guide the human operator.     

300-mm full-factory Simulations for 90- and 65-nm IC manufacturing

We present enabling capabilities and key results realized by the development and implementation of 300-mm full-factory simulation tools supporting Intel's 90-nm high-volume manufacturing and 65-nm technology development factories. We discuss key attributes of these simulators which are being utilized for strategic fab capacity planning, automation systems designs, and tactical manufacturing execution and decision support for continuous improvement. These simulators capture the dynamic behaviors of hundreds of production tools with thousands of production and engineering lots and integrate automated material handling systems (AMHS) behaviors in these production simulations. The paper discusses specific topical areas where these tools have found widespread use and emphasizes the importance of periodic model validation and calibration to the real factory.     

Automation and fab concepts for 300 mm wafer manufacturing

The introduction of 300 mm wafers into integrated circuit manufacturing will affect the design of the fabs. This paper covers the expectations of IC manufacturers and the progress in technology with respect to the fab itself and automation systems. The fab design is affected by the future use of closed wafer carriers, a consequent automation strategy, new challenges in contamination control, and the increased importance of environmental aspects. It will be described how these factors influence the fab design and the status of the discussed technologies.     

Ethernet's winning ways

Ethernet networks are winning big in manufacturing automation and process control-and for good reasons: they save money and they simplify operations. By 2003, the market for Ethernet networks that connect the factory to the higher levels of business operations and supply chain management is expected to reach US $3.5 billon. GE-Cisco Industrial Networks, a newly formed joint venture in Charlottesville designs, installs, and services industrial networks. The company projected that the manufacturing and process control market will be nearly 100 percent Ethernet within the next four years. Already, at least 5 percent of the manufacturing and process plants have Ethernet-based systems on the production floor, according to GE-Cisco. While this is still a small percentage, Ethernet capability is becoming such an important factor in the industry that the various industrial fieldbus consortia are redefining their communications protocols to work with both the Ethernet and the Internet     

Measuring commitment to new manufacturing technology: integratingtechnological push and marketing pull concepts

The authors examine the extent to which marketing and manufacturing related factors, either separately or integratively, influence the degree of commitment to manufacturing automation. The findings suggest that commitment to automation technology is generally greater when marketing pull and technological push forces are adopted simultaneously. The implications of these findings for management and an agenda for future research on the market-pull-technological-push concepts are discussed     

Closed-Loop Modeling in Future Automation System Engineering and Validation

This paper presents a new framework for design and validation of industrial automation systems based on systematic application of formal methods. The engineering methodology proposed in this paper is based on the component design of automated manufacturing systems from intelligent mechatronic components. Foundations of such componentspsila information infrastructure are the new IEC 61499 architecture and the automation object concept. It is illustrated in this paper how these architectures, in conjunction with other advanced technologies, such as Unified Modeling Language, Simulink, and net condition/event systems, form a framework that enables pick-and-place design, simulation, formal verification, and deployment with the support of a suite of software tools. The key feature of the framework is the inherent support of formal validation techniques achieved on account of automated transformation among different system models. The paper appeals to developers of automation systems and automation software tools via showing the pathway to improve the system development practices by combining several design and validation methodologies and technologies.     

飞天智能自动化系统在浮法玻璃生产线上的应用(上)

目前国内有关智能自动化技术的应用比较少,简单地介绍了飞天智能自动化系统的原理,并结合浮法玻璃的生产工艺介绍了此系统在玻璃生产过程的具体应用。     

飞天智能自动化系统在浮法玻璃生产线上的应用(下)

目前国内有关智能自动化技术的应用比较少。简单地介绍了飞天智能自动化系统的原理,并结合浮法玻璃的生产工艺介绍了此系统在玻璃生产过程的具体应用。     

工业4.0背景下自动化专业新工科建设及教学改革思考

在工业4.0背景下,自动化专业人才培养如何适应未来新产业、新经济发展是非常值得关注的问题。高校是人才的提供方,而工业界是工科人才的需求方,大学的教学改革必须使供给方提供的产品满足需求方的需求。在对装备制造企业调研基础上,本文分析了工业界对自动化人才的实际需求并指出目前存在的问题,在此基础上本文对自动化新工科建设的教学改革进行了讨论。     

Applications of magnetic levitation-based micro-automation insemiconductor manufacturing

It is pointed out that the demands for precision and speed in manufacturing processes in the semiconductor industry are not well suited to traditional, large-scale approaches to automation. Consideration of several microautomation approaches has led to the development of a magnetic levitation-based system capable of three-dimensional motions. Such systems are able to move quickly and precisely, and can deliver prescribed forces and moments. Several significant applications of magnetic levitation-based microautomation in semiconductor manufacturing have been identified. These include positioning operations at various scales, such as mask alignment, hybrid circuit assembly, and transport between process stations. Other applications are analytical probing, nondestructive tape automated bonding (TAB) bond testing, and optical system alignment. A prototype system capable of high-speed four-degree-of-freedom motions with 0.5-μm accuracy over small workspaces has been demonstrated     

Manufacturing improvement team programs in the semiconductorindustry

Increasing numbers of semiconductor manufacturers are implementing improvement programs at their manufacturing sites (fabs). Yet despite their rising popularity, little attention has focused on the impact of a program's design on its overall effectiveness. This research examines the improvement programs established at ten fabs. A categorization scheme classifies programs according to their use of one of three types of teams: continuous improvement teams (CITs), quality circles (QCs), and self-directed work teams (SDWTs). Results from 188 operator surveys and over 150 interviews with fab employees (including managers, engineers, technicians, supervisors, operators, and representatives from human resources and quality departments) indicate that a number of programs suffer from weak implementation and disorganized management. The failure to carefully design and implement a program is reflected in employee perceptions of the program's effectiveness. Perceptions of CIT programs are found to be significantly lower than those of QC or SDWT programs, both of which feature higher degrees of autonomy and training. Results also highlight a nearly universal failure to integrate production team programs with engineering and maintenance functions. To help improve future programs, design implications and aspects of effective team programs are noted. Special attention is paid to program selection, goal design, organizational support, engineering integration, information systems, and empowerment semantics     

机械设计制造及其自动化的发展方向

随着机械制造及其自动化的发展,对于机械制造内容也逐渐丰富起来,机械设计及其自动化利用现代知识和科技技术,将机械的各种功能,质量和可靠性等多方面的优势进行结合,从而形成整个系统性价比最高的系统工程技术。这种制造较以往相比,操作更加便捷安全,生产过程也更加环保。机械设计制造及其自动化的发展,有助于提高企业产品的生产率,对于经济社会的发展有着积极的作用。     

Modeling, analysis, simulation, scheduling, and control ofsemiconductor manufacturing systems: A Petri net approach

This paper presents a Petri net approach to modeling, analysis, simulation, scheduling, and control of semiconductor manufacturing systems. These systems can be characterized as discrete event systems that exhibit sequential, concurrent, and conflicting relations among the events and operations. Their evolution is dynamic over time. The system complexity is tremendous owing to the complex semiconductor manufacturing processes and test procedures. A formal approach such as Petri nets enables one to describe such complex discrete event systems precisely and thus allows one to perform both qualitative and quantitative analysis, scheduling and discrete-event control of them. This paper also serves as a tutorial paper. It briefly reviews applications of Petri nets in semiconductor manufacturing automation. It then introduces definitions and concepts of Petri nets. It proceeds with a discussion of basic Petri net modules in system modeling, a modeling method and a practical system's modeling example. Next, the paper presents their properties and their implications in manufacturing systems, as well as their analysis methods. Timed Petri nets are introduced for system simulation, performance evaluation, and scheduling purposes. An application-oriented case study is presented. Finally, the paper concludes with the active research areas in applying Petri nets to design of semiconductor manufacturing systems