An experiment in distributed manufacturing control

Armitage, B. and Hutchison, D. and Skinner, A. (1992) An experiment in distributed manufacturing control. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 7 (4). pp. 231-237. ISSN 0268-3768

Abstract

Local area networks are used in industrial control applications that require the digital interconnection of low-level devices such as transducers, actuators and simple controllers. It is possible to use such interconnections solely as a wiring alternative to the traditional star-connected computer controllers and to leave the control of the application with one ‘central’ computer. However, using a local area network to connect intelligent low-level devices opens up the possibility of applying a distributed control methodology to the application. This paper describes the application of a distributed control approach to a work cell previously based around a single, large programmable logic controller. Comparisons of the two approaches are made in an attempt to quantify the effect of this new approach on the metrics of the work cell.