PROGRESS IN RECONFIGURABLE MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

摘要

There is now approximately 30-35 years of experience in the field of flexible manufacturing systems. They are planned for a defined spectrum of workpieces, fixed numbers of pieces and precisely defined standards. The flexibility refers above all to the fast convertibility to another workpiece from the well-known spectrum of parts and to the affiliated NC program. In contrast to this, the contemporary market developments are characterized by imponderabilities. The uncertainties in planning already amount to 20% - 30% of the planned production. In future, this portion might possibly increase. As a result, the international research on production technology is turning towards reconfigurable machining systems, which have the quality that structure, capacity, technology and function can be adapted quickly. The following paper describes the current results from the Collaborative Research Center (Sonderforschungsbereich) No. 467, "Transformable Corporate Structures of Multi Variant Serial Production". These results have been worked out during the current research period from the year 2000 to 2002.