Gary Colquhoun

A state of the art review of IDEFO

Abstract The study of manufacturing systems has generated interest in IDEFO, a structured functional analysis technique for manufacturing. The paper comprises a review of relevant published literature. Four categories of publications have been identified: descriptions and reviews of the basic principles of IDEFO; performance evaluation and comparisons with other techniques; enhancements to the technique; and specific applications. The paper concludes with a discussion of issues raised ns a result of the review, identifying general agreement that there is a need for such a technique and that it provides a basis for understanding and analysing manufacturing systems.

Application of genetic programming to the calibration of industrial robots

Robot calibration is a widely studied area for which a variety of solutions have been generated. Most of the methods proposed address the calibration problem by establishing a model structure followed by indirect, often ill-conditioned numeric parameter identification. This paper introduces a new inverse static kinematic calibration technique based on genetic programming, which is used to establish and identify model structure and parameters. The technique has the potential to identify the true calibration model avoiding the problems of conventional methods. The fundamentals of this approach are described and experimental results provided.

A reference architecture for engineering data control (EDC) in capital plant manufacture

Abstract This paper is concerned with engineering data management in the manufacture of complex, made-to-customer-order capital plant. The research is introduced through a discussion of capital plant manufacture and the factors underlying the management of technical engineering data. Although sales and engineering departments in the capital plant industry are equipped with data processing systems, evidence shows that much information processing is carried out manually, that computer systems are not integrated and that data has to be entered repeatedly at various stages of the bidding, design and manufacturing process. These findings initiated a new approach to product configuration and project management for capital plant manufacture based on engineering data — Engineering Data Control (EDC). The process flow and product structure of the EDC reference architecture is explained to show how the bid and order handling process can be integrated. The core of the paper deals in detail with the generic data structure and system reference architecture developed. An IDEF1X data model was developed to apply the generic reference architecture at a case study site. The suitability of EDC to increase information quality and to provide a concurrent engineering environment integrating all stages of a project life-cycle is discussed. The paper concludes by providing a critical review of the pertinent elements of the EDC reference architecture: the product structure view, the project stages view and the engineering data view.

The World-Wide Web as Platform for Supporting Interactive Concurrent Engineering

This paper describes the use of the Internet and World-Wide Web (WWW) as a means for disseminating information and enabling collaborative working in a Concurrent Engineering (CE) environment. It discusses the authors architecture for a concurrent engineering support environment, the CONCERT environment, and describes the implementation of a WWW-based interface to this environment.

The Design Of An Object-Oriented Repository To Support Concurrent Engineering

In this paper we discuss the requirements and design of a repository that can be used to support a Concurrent Engineering (CE) philosophy. We identify three fundamental support services that are of use in a concurrent engineering environment: distribution support, computer supported co-operative working support and repository support. These requirements are modelled and applied in conjunction with the design and implementation of a concurrent engineering support repository.

Robot Calibration Using Genetic Programming

Conventional robot calibration techniques rely on numerical optimisation methods with the attendant problems of; kinematic equation non-linearities, inappropriate model parameterisations and parameter discontinuities or redundancies. In this paper research using a symbolic co-evolutionary calibration algorithm is described. The approach merges established kinematic modelling techniques with Genetic Programming to generate joint correction junctions as part of an inverse calibration model. The data generated in a calibration procedure is described and the paper concludes by discussing the potential for symbolic calibration and the automatic generation of correction models using Genetic Programming.

Structural identification and calibration of kinematic robot models by genetic search

Accurate robot modelling is of great importance to the application of enhanced robot programming tools such as Offline Programming systems. This paper describes a prototype of an automated kinematic modelling environment, which is primarily based on evolutionary computation. A genetic algorithm herein attempts to find an optimal model structure of the forward kinematic of an industrial robot based on measurements reflecting individual characteristics. Finally it will be reported on results obtained from simulation experiments.