Grzegorz Ćwikła

Methods of Manufacturing Data Acquisition for Production Management - A Review

Knowledge about the state of the production system is necessary for proper management of a company. A modern company typically uses an ERP (Enterprise Resources Planning) system for management support, but still there is usually a gap between business and manufacturing layers of a company. There is a need to provide solutions allowing data acquisition directly from the production system, analyse this data and display it in a convenient form. Each type of production systems require a different approach to collect data because of variety of objects and conditions. The ability of production data acquisition mostly depends on the level of automation. This paper presents a comparison of methods of data acquisition from different types of manufacturing systems. Methods of data acquisition, from both automated and non-automated manufacturing systems, are described. Automation equipment resources (sensors, actuators, PLC, DCS, CNC, HMI, SCADA) and automatic identification systems (barcodes, RFID, vision systems etc.), as well as communication solutions (fieldbus, wired and wireless networks) and information exchange standards (OPC, MTConnect) are discussed.

The New Approach to Design Features Identification

In this paper a new solution for design features identification is show. The proposed method is based on manual arbitral identification of the potential design features. Application of this method allows identifying a set of design features which can be used for a design modelling in CAD system. As a result of application of the proposed method a user is able to identify the set of design features. This set can be next applied in the process of design production preparation subsystem formation at the stage of design feature library creation.

The Methodology of Development of the Manufacturing Information Acquisition System (MIAS) for Production Management

The acquisition of data on the state of the production process is essential in the management of a company. The ERP system, as well as company management, should be continuously supplied with up-to-date information about the state of the production system, but in many cases there is a gap between the business and manufacturing layers of a company. Data on the state of production orders, machines, materials and human resources have to be automatically acquired, transmitted, archived, pre-processed and converted to a form compatible with business layer systems. There is a need for the development of methodology, describing methods of data acquisition and pre-processing directly from the shop floor. The methodology should be universal, covering the needs of different types of technological processes (discrete, continuous, batch), branches of industry and levels of production automation, etc. This paper presents the methodology of the development of Manufacturing Information Acquisition System (MIAS) covering needs for automated data acquisition, archiving and pre-processing systems, able to provide on-line production processes information for various clients. MIAS can be used as a link between data sources, MES/ERP systems and company management. Furthermore, it can be used as a stand-alone management information tool.

Application of the MIAS methodology in design of the data acquisition system for wastewater treatment plant

This paper presents application of MIAS (Manufacturing Information Acquisition System) methodology to develop customized data acquisition system supporting management of the Central Wastewater Treatment Plant (CWWTP) in Gliwice, Poland, being example of production systems leading continuous flow, automated production processes. Access to current data on the state of production system is a key to efficient management of a company, allowing fast reaction or even anticipation of future problems with equipment and reduction of waste. Overview of both analysis and synthesis of organisational solutions, data sources, data pre-processing and communication interfaces, realised according to proposed MIAS methodology, had been presented. The stage of analysis covered i.e.: organisational structure of the company, IT systems used in the company, specifics of technological processes, machines and equipment, structure of control systems, assignments of crew members, materials used in the technological processes. This paper also presents results of the stage of synthesis of technical and organisational solutions of MIAS for CWWTP, including proposed solutions covering MIAS architecture and connections with other IT systems, data sources in production system that are currently available and newly created, data preprocessing procedures, and necessary communication interfaces.

Case Study of Manufacturing Information Acquisition System (MIAS) in Automated Continuous Production System

Real-time information feed describing the state of production system is the key to successful management of any company, because up-to-date information is necessary basis for decision making in company operating on globalised market. Data describing the state of the production system should be collected in the manufacturing system, pre-processed, interpreted, filtered, archived and finally, either used in IT systems supporting company management (MES, ERP), or directly presented to crew and managers responsible for specific areas of interest. Possibility of data acquisition in companies strongly depends on specific of branch of industry, technological processes automation level, number of operations performed manually, type of production, etc. Acquisition of data on state of the production system should be carried-on automatically, without involvement of workers. This paper presents overall description of issues of data acquisition in company, proposed Manufacturing Information Acquisition System (MIAS) and the case study of data acquisition in company leading continuous, automated production processes Central Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Gliwice, Poland.

The influence of printing parameters on selected mechanical properties of FDM/FFF 3D-printed parts

Rapid Prototyping technologies, especially 3D printing are becoming increasingly popular due to their usability and the constant decrease in price of printing equipment and materials. The article focuses on the study of selected mechanical strength properties of 3D-printed elements, which are not very important if the element is only a model for further manufacturing techniques, but which are important when 3D-printed elements will be a part of a functioning device, e.g. a part of unique scientific equipment. The research was carried out on a set of standardised samples, printed with low-cost standard materials (ABS), using a cheap 3D printer. The influence of parameters (such as the type of infill pattern, infill density, shell thickness, printing temperature, the type of material) on selected mechanical properties of the samples, were tested. The obtained results allows making conscious decisions on the printing of elements to be durable enough, either on a non-professional printer, or when to ordered by a professional manufacturer.

The Practical Approach to Freeform Shape Elements Reverse Engineering

Element geometry can be restored with basic measurement techniques. However if the element geometry is too complex (free form surfaces), it is not possible to take all measurements in that way. Example presented in the paper is a drop forged element (car suspension link). In situation when spare element is out of reach (product withdraw from market, producer technological process tooling redesign), the element can be reproduced (singularly or in series, what depends on producer). Reconstructed element is slightly different from a master element (impossible existence of reliably identically designed and manufactured parts), because of measurement uncertainty. Another problem is that original element is usually worn out or during disassembly process can be damaged, so it has different geometry,(when worn out is not fitting to tolerances) than newly manufactured one. The practical approach for reverse engineering is based on: measurement uncertainty extrapolation, 3D part scanning, transformation of point cloud to solid model, composition examination of an alloy. The method is a complex solution that brings: geometrical description and material assignment and heat treatment. Important part of the method is typical measurement techniques. In cases when tolerances have to be preserved, additional tolerance assignment is needed according to linkage between redesigned part of element and parts of other elements in assembly. The insurance of measurement was checked according to typical tolerance of the drop forged element. The retrieved 3D model was compared with virtual mass to real master element mass. The technological tooling reconstructed prototype and element reconstructed prototype have been made. Finally the alloy material is assigned according to measurement result analysis (electron spectroscopy EDS). Proposed example shows many important clues that can be used in order to provide properly redesigned element.

Real-Time Monitoring Station for Production Systems

Real-time monitoring of the flow of materials, semi-completed and completed products during production process is necessary practice for every company because of need for optimal production management. Identification of technological operations, parts, products and persons responsible for any production stage is possible using means of processes control devices and automatic identification systems. Paper describes the in-line monitoring station designed for tests of real-time production monitoring methods. Available sources of information are RFiD, bar codes, and vision system. These data sources are integrated into the in-line production monitoring station. Modular production system model or small production system can be placed under the In-line station as an object of monitoring. Advanced PLC integrates control over subsystems and allows communication between hardware and software components of data acquisition system. Data acquired from the in-line research station is stored in a dedicated database, then processed and analysed using MES (Manufacturing Execution System) software.

Experimental determination of dynamic parameters of an industrial robot

In an industry increasingly used are industrial robots. Commonly used are two basic methods of programming, on-line programming and off-line programming. In both cases, the programming consists in getting to the selected points record this position, and set the order of movement of the robot, and the introduction of logical tests. Such a program is easy to write, and it is suitable for most industrial applications. Especially when the process is known, respectively slow and unchanging. In this case, the program is being prepared for a universal model of the robot with the appropriate geometry and are checked only collisions. Is not taken into account the dynamics of the robot and how it will really behave while in motion. For this reason, the robot programmed to be tested at a reduced speed, which is raised gradually to the final value. Depending on the complexity of the move and the proximity of the elements it takes a lot of time. It is easy to notice that the robot at different speeds have different trajectories and behaves differently.

Modelling of industrial robot in LabView Robotics

Currently can find many models of industrial systems including robots. These models differ from each other not only by the accuracy representation parameters, but the representation range. For example, CAD models describe the geometry of the robot and some even designate a mass parameters as mass, center of gravity, moment of inertia, etc. These models are used in the design of robotic lines and sockets. Also systems for off-line programming use these models and many of them can be exported to CAD. It is important to note that models for off-line programming describe not only the geometry but contain the information necessary to create a program for the robot. Exports from CAD to off-line programming system requires additional information. These models are used for static determination of reachability points, and testing collision. Its enough to generate a program for the robot, and even check the interaction of elements of the production line, or robotic cell. Mathematical models allow robots to study the properties of kinematic and dynamic of robot movement. In these models the geometry is not so important, so are used only selected parameters such as the length of the robot arm, the center of gravity, moment of inertia. These parameters are introduced into the equations of motion of the robot and motion parameters are determined.