Control systems for integrated manufacturing - The CAM solution

In automatic manufacturing problems are open in the area of both shop floor operations and centralized planning and control, but the current control approach falls most often because of inadequate feedback from the shop floor, poor decision support tools, and a general lack of integration with other automated systems. Production Activity Control (PAC) addresses these needs in the area of shop floor control, aiming to close the loop between production planning and execution. ESPRIT project 477 "Control Systems for Integrated Manufacturing" addresses the area of Production Activity Control. The paper discusses the project goals viewed from the point of view of both the manufacturing engineer and of the implementer of computer applications; the consortium organization is briefly described and the results obtained so far are detailed.