These notes summarize the significance of encouraging and supporting Canadian
research that is international, cross-disciplinary and based on
university-industry collaboration. They emphasize the importance of the
information highway in facilitating such research at a reasonable cost. The
executive summary of GNOSIS, one of the International Intelligent Manufacturing
Systems test cases, is appended as an example of this style of research.
Brian Gaines, gaines@cpsc.ucalgary.ca
- The long-term goal of the GNOSIS project is to develop a new manufacturing
paradigm which recognizes problems of the present manufacturing
environment--the growing scarcity of natural resources, the problem of
environmental destruction, and the issues arising out of regional trade
imbalances.
- The new post mass production paradigm is based on
systematization of design and manufacturing knowledge to acquire and
organize knowledge in a form that supports the design and manufacturing of
soft machinery, i.e., products and factories which achieve reduced
resource utilization and waste elimination throughout the whole life cycle from
design to reuse or disposal.
- Major technologies investigated include configuration management
systems supporting the reuse of engineering and manufacturing knowledge in
routine design and configurable production systems achieving dynamic
product-specific manufacturing in flexible production systems.
- The major characteristics, critical drivers, and obstacles to the post
mass production paradigm were identified to illuminate a path to the new
paradigm.
- 31 partners from 14 countries have held a series of 12 major international
meetings involving over 100 professionals.
- The overall project concepts and objectives were refined into mutually
agreed project plans with well defined tasks assignments.
- Electronic mail servers were set up and intensive international
communication around joint work has taken place.
- Surveys of the state of the art were undertaken in all significant areas
of the project.
- Methodologies and tools were shared between partners.
- Major experiments on widespread inter-regional joint work have been
carried out.
- Knowledge systematization throughout a complete product life cycle has
been addressed by the use of two data sets as benchmarks.
- The technical reports and other deliverables created in the project
comprise some 1600 pages, and have been disseminated on CD-ROM.
- Industrial companies are already obtaining benefits from the work during
the test case.
- Terminology Guide. Final Report of IMS Test Case 7 Definition Workpackage
1.
- Systematization of Knowledge and Supporting Information for Design and
Manufacturing. Final Report of IMS Test Case 7 Technical Workpackage 1.
- Configuration Management Systems. Final Report of IMS Test Case 7
Technical Workpackage 2.
- Configurable Production Systems. Final Report of IMS Test Case 7 Technical
Workpackage 3.
- Soft Machinery. Final Report of IMS Test Case 7 Technical Workpackage 4.
- Post Mass Production Paradigm. Final Report of IMS Test Case 7 Technical
Workpackage 5.
- Literature Survey and State of the Art in Knowledge Systematization for
Intelligent Manufacturing. Technical Report of IMS Test Case 7 Technical
Workpackage 1.
- Formalization of Scenario: Enterprise modelling and process design
techniques for configuration management. Technical Report of IMS Test Case 7
Technical Workpackage 1.
- Main Joint Demonstration. Technical Report of IMS Test Case 7 Technical
Workpackage 1.
- Connecting Conceptual Design to Part Family Description: Introduction to
the Demonstration -- Parts 1 & 2. Technical Report of IMS Test Case 7
Technical Workpackage 1.
- From Part Family to Manufacturing Preparation: Introduction to the
Demonstration -- Part 3. Technical Report of IMS Test Case 7 Technical
Workpackage 1.
- Systematization of Knowledge for LV-Trolley Demonstration. Technical
Report of IMS Test Case 7 Technical Workpackage 1.
- GNOSIS Overview Slide Set (24 slides originally presented at IT6, Vienna).
- Report to Final GNOSIS European Assessment Meeting, Patras, Greece.
- Summary of Evaluation Questionnaires Received From 31 Partners in GNOSIS.
- TW4 Soft Machinery Workshop Notes (technical papers, slides and movies
from Tokyo workshop).
- Technical and background reports contributed by GNOSIS partners.
To make the results of the GNOSIS test case available to the manufacturing
community, a CD-ROM has been prepared that can be read on Macintosh, PC and
Unix platforms, and has the reports available in Microsoft Word,
Farallon Replica and Adobe PostScript formats. The total volume
of material on the disk is: 57 reports totaling 1590 pages, each in 3 formats;
11 movies totaling 70 minutes; plus software and maps of the material.
University
of Calgary Page,
KSI
Page
gaines@cpsc.ucalgary.ca 1-Sep-94
