Skip to main content
European Commission logo
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS
CORDIS Web 30th anniversary CORDIS Web 30th anniversary
Content archived on 2024-04-19

CIM Computing Environment: Integrating CNMA

Objective

The objective of CCE-CNMA is to broaden the scope of project 5104, CNMA, to cover new areas of technology. The CCE-CNMA project will include the definition and implementation of tools and services to provide a platform for the efficient development and implementation of manufacturing applications.
The computer integrated manufacturing and engineering (CIME) computing environment integrating a communication network for manufacturing applications (CNMA) (CCE-CNMA) project has provided a marketable platform on which factory managers and applications developers can rely, to achieve effective control of their manufacturing environment as well as significantly reducing information technology (IT) integration costs. CIME computing environment (CCE) is an open, multivendor, heterogeneous, and distributed CIME computing environment. Users with common interests have come together to specify precise user requirements based on experience, and systems vendors then bring out the products to satisfy them. Services and features provided include simple integration of diverse hardware, configurability of software network management and interoperability all bundled together. The resultant CCE-CNMA products and services provide the means for improved information management, allowing key decisions to be made based on timely and accurate information.

CCE is a powerful platform that is:
available from different vendors:
portable;
with unified data access;
available on different machines;
using existing technologies, such as Windows, DCE, OLE/DDE to OLTP.
It integrates:
existing applications, for example all Microsoft Windows applications;
standards: MMS, X/Open, OSF DCE;
latest technology: DCE, MMS, DDE.

CCE-CNMA have developed a range of results that will reduce the requirement for specialist skills and knowledge for the development, integration and operation of a CIME computing environment. This will subsequently open up the CIME market by reducing implementation costs, and making integrated solutions cheaper and more affordable to end users. A variety of different users in the manufacturing environment are anticipated to benefit from the products and services offered under CCE-CNMA including the manufacturing application developer and integrator and the end user.

As a testimony to the success of the CCE-CNMA project, many products have been developed by the vendors of the consortium, and are now being fully exploited in the global CIME market. The range of products includes CNMA profiles, gateways and CCE platforms.

The CCE-CNMA consortium has accumulated a vast amount of industrial experience which is exploited by influencing the development of international standards in the field of manufacturing. This activity will continue to ensure that open systems can become a viable alternative to vendor proprietary solutions.

To ensure that the results of this phase of the project are applicable to industry 4 real industrial pilot demonstrators have been identified within CCE-CNMA which cover a broad spectrum of industrial applications. By adopting the CCE-CNMA solution European industry will have its investments protected, development costs minimized, and upgradeability and expendability made simpler, allowing it to become more competitive in world markets in future manufacturing technology.
The approach will be to:

- build a distributed computing toolkit, using, where appropriate, specifications from open systems foundation (OSF), X/open and ESPRIT project 5288 (AMICE). This toolkit will provide a platform for the efficient development and implementation of manufacturing applications
- reduce the barriers to the adoption of OSI by defining and implementing a network integration kit and user-friendly network administration facilities, thus helping migration towards an open computing environment for manufacturing applications
- continue the role of CNMA as an implementor of advanced OSI standards, and continuing to exert influence on international standards organisations to ensure that the developing standards match European requirements and products.

Pilot demonstrations are foreseen at four manufacturing sites.

An architecture guide will be produced to encourage technology transfer among developers and to provide technology awareness and training to vendors. Results will be incorporated in products marketed by the vendor members of the consortium.

Topic(s)

Data not available

Call for proposal

Data not available

Funding Scheme

Data not available

Coordinator

British Aerospace Defence Ltd
EU contribution
No data
Address
Strand Road
PR1 8UD Preston
United Kingdom

See on map

Total cost
No data

Participants (17)