CNC Alarm Resolution and Work Cell Monitoring with a Robotic Arm

Govilla, Mayank; Neathery, Nikolas; Francis, Brian

Student Work

CNC Alarm Resolution and Work Cell Monitoring with a Robotic Arm

Public Deposited

Computer Numeric Control (CNC) revolutionized the manufacturing industry by enabling the creation of highly accurate and complex parts at high speeds. However, CNC systems have been heavily reliant on human operators to oversee and control the manufacturing process since their creation. Despite recent advancements in automating CNC milling, existing approaches have overlooked the need for a methodology to handle errors and failures in the system. To address this gap, we developed a set of Robot Operating System (ROS) nodes that monitor and autonomously manage a CNC while reacting to alarms in real-time with the hope of reducing downtime during lights our manufacturing. At any point during normal operation a CNC could be stopped by an alarm halting production. Our system is designed to reduce this downtime by resolving the present alarms. Our approach additionally tracks a variety of performance metrics, allowing for later evaluation and continuous improvement of the system via the Flexxbotics environment. The methodology we created is scalable and adaptable to a wide range of CNC systems and can be customized and configured to fit the specific needs of different manufacturers. Because the framework is adaptable to other CNC systems, our methodology is a valuable tool for manufacturers looking to improve their efficiency and productivity.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

Subject

Publisher