From its inception in 1983, ESPRIT (the European Strategic Programme for Research and Development in Information Technology) has aimed at improving the competitiveness of European industry and providing it with the technology needed for the 1990s. Esprit Project 623, on which most of the work presented in this book is based, was one of the key projects in the ESPRIT area, Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM). From its beginnings in 1985, it brought together a team of researchers from industry, research institutes and universities to explore and develop a critical stream of advanced manufacturing technology that would be timely and mature for industrial exploitation in a five year time frame. The synergy of cross border collaboration between technology users and vendors has led to results ranging from new and improved products to training courses given at universities. The subject of Esprit Project 623 was the integration of robots into manufacturing environments. Robots are a vital element in flexible automation and can contribute substantially to manufacturing efficiency. The project had two main themes, off-line programming and robot system planning. Off-line programming enlarges the application area of robots and opens up new possibilities in domains such as laser cutting, and other hazardous operations. Reported benefits obtained from off-line program ming include: - significant cost reductions because re-programming eliminates robot down-time; - faster production cycles, in some cases time-savings of up to 85% are reported; - the optimal engineering of products with improved quality.

Written from a manufacturing perspective, this book takes readers step-by-step through the theory and application techniques of designing and building a robot-driven automated work cell from selection of hardware through programming of the devices to economic justification of the project. All-inclusive in approach, it covers not only robot automation, but all the other technology needed in the automated work cell to integrate the robot with the work environment and with the enterprise data base. Robot and other required automation hardware and software are introduced in the order in which they would be selected in an actual industrial automation design. Includes system troubleshooting guides, case studies problems, and worked example problems. Robot Classification. Automated Work Cells and CIM Systems. End-of-Arm Tooling. Automation Sensors. Work-Cell Support Systems. Robot and System Integration. Work-Cell Programming. Justification and Applications of Work Cells. Safety. Human Interface: Operator Training, Acceptance, and Problems. For those interested in Robotics and Manufacturing Automation or Production Design. "

From its inception in 1983, ESPRIT (the European Strategic Programme for Research and Development in Information Technology) has aimed at improving the competitiveness of European industry and providing it with the technology needed for the 1990s. Esprit Project 623, on which most of the work presented in this book is based, was one of the key projects in the ESPRIT area, Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM). From its beginnings in 1985, it brought together a team of researchers from industry, research institutes and universities to explore and develop a critical stream of advanced manufacturing technology that would be timely and mature for industrial exploitation in a five year time frame. The synergy of cross border collaboration between technology users and vendors has led to results ranging from new and improved products to training courses given at universities. The subject of Esprit Project 623 was the integration of robots into manufacturing environments. Robots are a vital element in flexible automation and can contribute substantially to manufacturing efficiency. The project had two main themes, off-line programming and robot system planning. Off-line programming enlarges the application area of robots and opens up new possibilities in domains such as laser cutting, and other hazardous operations. Reported benefits obtained from off-line program ming include: - significant cost reductions because re-programming eliminates robot down-time; - faster production cycles, in some cases time-savings of up to 85% are reported; - the optimal engineering of products with improved quality.

CIM - Mechanical Aspects: State of the Art Report contains different points of view about computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM). This report is organized into three parts: invited papers, analysis, and bibliography. The invited papers part examines various mechanical aspects of CIM. The analysis part assesses the major advances and provides a balanced analysis of the state of the art in CIM. Bibliography compiles the most important published material on the subject of mechanical aspects of CIM.