Overview

The development of the 'factory of the future' by major international corporations such as General Motors, IBM, Westinghouse, etc now involves many practising engineers. This book is an attempt to identify and describe some of the building blocks required for computer aided engineering for manufacture. It begins with numerical control and the infrastructure required for the automation of individual 'islands' within existing factories. Computer aided design and computer aided manufacture are then discussed in detail together with their integration to improve manufacturing efficiency and flexibility. Robotics and flexible manufacturing systems are examined, as well as the management of these systems required for production optimization. Finally, there is an overview of the relatively new field of artificial intelligence, which is being increasingly used in most aspects of computer aided engineering for manufacture. There are many topics which could have been included or expanded upon with advantage, but the authors have attempted to strike a balance so that the reader can obtain the maximum usefulness from a reasonably concise volume.