Richard A. Wysk, Brett A. Peters, and Jeffrey S. Smith
Department of Industrial Engineering
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas 77843
409-845-5407; 409-845-3574; 409-845-4335
FAX: 409-847-9005
ABSTRACT
This paper addresses the role of process plans as they relate to shop floor control. The paper outlines the information requirements of a process plan so that they can be used for generic shop floor control. These requirements are expressed as a function of the shop floor tasks/activities that are required to produce a product. The process planning requirements represent a basic part of the shop floor control system's ability to change its actions so that alternative products can be produced using the same control schema. By altering data in its databases, new manufacturing process information and alternative process information can be considered and executed by the shop floor control system. The information for process plans must be presented in an unambiguous manner so that the production instructions can be executed in a predictable manner.
Specifically, we define the current use and implementation of process plans. An architecture and the associated functional requirements of the process plans are then developed so that specific manufacturing instructions can be automatically implemented in a manufacturing system. Finally, a formal representation schema for process plans along with an associated factory resource model is described and presented. An example application of the schema is included.
Key Words: Process Planning, Shop Floor Control, Factory Resource Model, Flexible Manufacturing Systems, Computer Integrated Manufacturing Systems