Paving the way for Industry 4.0 with smart manufacturing machines
12 September 2017
Project CIRCLE: Reconfigurable Automated Test and Validation Machine
The Manufacturing Engineering Research Group at Trinity College Dublin needed an open, reconfigurable, automated product test line that delivered Industry 4.0 capabilities.
The group created an innovative and fully commissioned test line optimised through process abstraction and division into localised real-time test modules running on CompactRIO controllers. To accomplish this, the group developed a unique collaborative control application, based on LabVIEW, for unified process orchestration, monitoring, and management.
Innovation through collaboration
Ceramicx Ireland is a global leader of infrared heating technologies and services. It has a strong track record of collaboration with Irish and European-based research institutions, with award winning innovative solutions (KTI award 2017).
A significant challenge for Ceramicx was how to universally test its highly variant product portfolio of more than 150 part types, while maintaining a high level of processing speed and ensuring the system is open for new future part types and test features. This challenge is multi-dimensional, and its complexity increases with the desire to harness the power of digital services outlined in Industry 4.0 and the smart factory of the future. These challenges set out goals for project CIRCLE, an innovation collaboration between Ceramicx and Trinity College Dublin.
Overview of the Decentralised Control Architecture for Project CIRCLE
Introducing Project CIRCLE
Project CIRCLE aims to develop a fully automated, yet reconfigurable, product test and validation system. The products tested included ceramic and quartz heating elements, which vary in size, shape, mechanical, and electric properties. Test operations were categorised into electrical characteristics, thermal quality, and serial printing.
The project goals dictated the design of the system. Test stations operate in parallel to ensure high-speed processing. A central conveyor transfers parts between stations. Test stations are modular with plug-and-play operation, which makes for a reconfigurable and flexible process for current and future requirements. Supervisory control was utilised to autonomously align the test parameters of decentralised test stations to test different part types. A single operator is required to run the machine, by selecting what part type to process and then serially loading and unloading parts.
The idea to abstract a complex process into simpler more dedicated processes is rooted in the philosophical paradigms of holonic and agent-based design. A manufacturing process can now be constructed out of collaborative building blocks, capable of dedicated actions, while achieving collective goals. To develop this idea, the TCD research team turned to NI and its range of dedicated, fully reconfigurable controllers, modular I/O, and cross-platform programming tools.
The System Supervisor Ensures True Parallel Processing Through Decentralised CPUs
The importance of modular design
Project CIRCLE decentralises testing operations into dedicated test stations. These test stations utilise CompactRIO controllers for real-time control. Each test station utilises unique test and actuation equipment, (for example, high-potential testers, thermal cameras, or motor drives). All sensors, devices, and actuators connect to the station’s CompactRIO controller through industrial communication protocols, or dedicated C Series I/O modules, including the NI 9375 digital I/O, the NI 9219 universal analogue input, the NI 9213 temperature input module, and the NI 9403 high-speed pulse generator. During this process, NI provided fast and informative technical support to ensure the right equipment was selected for each test station.
Using a dedicated CompactRIO controller per station powers a modular design. Thanks to the CompactRIO platform, test stations are now plug-and-play units. A test process can be reconfigured with different test stations depending on the test requirements of the products. Future tests can be seamlessly integrated with the development of new test stations. Modifications in test stations do not affect the operation of other test stations. Each connected test station’s CompactRIO controller can communicate with each other and the system “supervisor” using software wrote using LabVIEW. This creates a fully connected and interoperable system, capable of true parallel processing through decentralised CPUs.
Collaborative orchestration
Elements of the SR-TEX Software Dashboard Built With LabVIEW
An instrumental orchestra can consist of a large number of talented musicians, but requires a conductor to lead them toward creating a beautiful symphony. Similarly, a decentralised machine requires a conductor to unite the stations into achieving a global goal. The conductor is a communication hub, which leverages the IIoT to monitor, configure, and manage test stations over a network. The engineering research team at TCD uniquely developed the conductor, programmed it with LabVIEW, and released it as a Windows OS executable. The conductor acts as network programme “producer,” which identifies what programme to run for each part type in each test station, the “consumer.” Uniquely, the conductor utilises a software plug-in portal, so developers can integrate custom software VIs, external applications, and data services.
An example of the plug-in portal can be seen in the integration of the Thermal Analysis Application (TAA). The TAA characterises the thermal output of heating elements by combining the sensing capability of an IR camera with the analysis functions in the LabVIEW Vision Module. The TAA is an executable app that links to the SR-TEX conductor through a software plug-in. Together, the plug-in portal and the IIoT modular test station represent a collaborative cyber-physical system (CPS) in Industry 4.0.
The impact of the work
We live in a digital age of manufacturing made possible through the convergence of high-power, low-cost computation and communication. For a manufacturer to stay competitive in the market place, it needs to be flexible. It needs to effectively react to changes in market demands. This requires the accommodation of new product types, new product features, and at varying production volumes. The machines of the future will harness the individual power of smart devices to produce a collaborative synergy that can overcome any obstacle.
Project CIRCLE identifies the capability of decentralised control and collaboration to meet the requirements of a progressive manufacturing enterprise. The underlying architecture is characterised as a Smart Reconfigurable Test Execution platform. This is a universal decentralised monitoring, control, and management platform that can create any automated testing line for parallel product test and validation. NI technology made this platform possible by bridging the research gap between concept and reality.
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