Integrated machine and control design for reconfigurable machine tools

We describe a systematic design procedure for reconfigurable machine tools and their associated control systems. The starting point for the design is a set of operations that must be performed on a given part or part family. These operations are decomposed into a set of functions that the machine must perform, and the functions are mapped to machine modules, each of which has an associated machine control module. Once the machine is constructed from a set of modules, the machine control modules are connected. An operation sequence control module, user interface control module, and mode-switching logic complete the control design. The integration of the machine and control design and the reconfigurability of the resulting machine tool are described in detail.