CIM BUILDING BLOCK FOR THE AUTOMATED PRODUCTION OF PLASTIC PARTS

Project Information

CIMBAPP

Grant agreement ID: BRE20196

Project closed

Start date 1 December 1992

End date 30 November 1996

Funded under

• Specific programme (EEC) of research and technological development in the field of industrial and materials technologies, 1990-1994

Total cost € 0,00

EU contribution € 1 292 500,00

Coordinated by

INGENIEURBUERO NONNENMANN
Germany

Exploitable results

Computer integrated manufacture building blocks for the automated production of plastic parts

The CIMBAPP architecture provides a framework for building up computer integrated manufacture (CIM) systems in the plastics processing industry. Within the project, existing software systems have been enhanced based on the requirements of a large number of users and potential users. The new generations of software systems developed in the project allow faster data access, are more flexible for the user through the use of windows-oriented user interfaces and databases, and require less maintenance. The combined use of the shop floor control, factory data acquisition and material supply system in a factory can save material and energy of an amount of 5-10% depending on the size of the factory. It is expected that the conceptual approach can also be applied in other industries.

Automated production of plastics

The plastic processing industry can be subdivided into several branches which have different requirements on the technologies used for shop floor and process control. The project has developed a classification scheme which maps the type and the requirements of a company to the modules of an ideal shop floor control (SFC) system. Furthermore, existing systems for shop floor control, factory data acquisition (FDA), material supply (MSS) and material data management (MDM) have been enhanced and partly integrated at the pilot plant which produces supply parts for the automotive industry and technical parts. The SFC system has been linked to the production planning and control system (PPC) of the pilot plant. Both, SFC and MSS system, have been implemented for modern operating systems (UNIX and Windows NT) and make use of window-oriented user interfaces. The combined use of the shop floor control, factory data acquisition and material supply system in a factory can save material and energy of an amount of 5-10% depending on the size of the factory so that an investment into an SFC system pays off in a few years. It is expected that the conceptual approach can also be applied in other industries.