The design architecture and implementation of an integrated manufacturing system

Labour cost in Hong Kong has increased substantially in recent years. Consequently there is a rapid shift in demand towards small production batches with a wide range of part varieties and better quality. Hence the local manufacturing industry needs to change from fixed automation to flexible automation to remain competitive. For economic justifications as well as tailoring for the particular requirements of an individual company, implementation of flexible automation by integrating existing equipment, instead of purchasing off-the-shelf systems, would be a viable approach. Recent advances in microcomputers PCs and local area network LAN technology have provided a low-cost solution for computer integrated manufacturing CIM applications.