One ultimate goal of manufacturing research is the development of integrated, self-adjusting, manufacturing systems which are capable of machining varying parts without the supervision and assistance of operators. An element critical to the successful implementation of these manufacturing systems is the machine tool, particularly the machine tool controller.;The hypothesis of this thesis is that open architecture controllers will enable the required advances in machine tool technology for increased productivity, enhanced quality, and globally competitive manufacturing. These advances include the following: (1) Sensor based monitoring and control of the machining process for efficient and precision manufacturing. (2) Implementation of advanced control algorithms for improved machining. (3) Bi-directional communication with the designers and planners, thus allowing the evaluation and modification of the process plan during manufacture by intelligent process planning systems. (4) The development of industrial standards that will increase competition and encourage rapid development of new technologies related to machine tool control and monitoring. (5) Flexible and expedient integration of a wide variety of sensors both for monitoring and control.;This thesis describes a new machine tool control architecture for sensor based, precision machining, and integrated manufacturing. This machine tool is termed MOSAIC-PM for Machine tool Open System Architecture Intelligent Controller for Precision Machining. The Open Architecture system developed and presented, is a prototype of a Next Generation computer controlled machine that embodies some elements of the above craftsmanship. The architecture permits sensor-based measurements, problem diagnosis, decision making and re-programming contributing to an improved component.;In order to prove that MOSAIC-PM filfills the objectives of an open architecture controller, a series of experiments and case studies were performed. These experiments exercised many aspects of flexibility, control, monitoring, and feedback at all levels of the proposed control hierarchy.
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