What is it?
Machining 4.0 demonstrator platform is a simulated small-scale production environment. It can be seen as a machining workshop with a different material/batch sources, process machines, storage area, material logistics system and completed part feed out and operator interfaces. The main goal of the demonstrator is to provide a physical platform to explore production scheduling complexity where the issues encountered in real large scale production environments are not obvious to observe.
Why it is important?
Key concerns in machining environments are how efficiently machine time is being used, how to react to unexpected changes (like machine going offline for unplanned maintenance), how to plan production if the most efficient way depending on the (constantly changing) production goals (i.e. priority batches, machine OEE optimisation, energy use, etc…). Scheduling and optimisation are extremely difficult tasks to tackle – best known example is traveling salesman problem. Frequently, in real production environments this is done sub optimally, but this can be improved using right tools, which is demonstrated by Mach 4.0 platform.
Implementation
Physical platform implementation is based on several subsystems that include simulated machines, multiple material feeds, logistics tasks executing robot and storage area for part buffering. Even in this simple environment, scheduling of the production in the most efficient execution if difficult for human operator. In addition, sudden production environment changes can be introduced by taking machines offline using operator’s interface.
Platform accepts manually configured schedule or schedule from the automatic scheduling system. This creates an easily understood challenge and a way to compare human abilities versus specialised optimisation system capabilities.
Conclusions
Some tasks humans are good at and some they are not. Optimisation and scheduling tasks are examples of the latter. Even for the computers brute force optimisation or scheduling approach could be very difficult and require lots of computational recourses. On the other hand, there are different algorithms that can be employed depending on the problem at hand. Machining 4.0 platform demonstrator allows to experiment and demonstrate different approaches and well as scheduling problem complexity itself.
| Country: | IE |
| Address: | Unit A, Aerodrome Business Park, Rathcoole, Co. Dublin D24 WCO4 |
Some tasks humans are good at and some they are not. Optimisation and scheduling tasks are examples of the latter. Even for the computers brute force optimisation or scheduling approach could be very difficult and require lots of computational recourses. On the other hand, there are different algorithms that can be employed depending on the problem at hand. Machining 4.0 platform demonstrator allows to experiment and demonstrate different approaches and well as scheduling problem complexity itself.