Title III - open architecture controller project

Modern Machine Shop, August, 1995 by Golden E. Herrin

Rational for Title III support of this project is provided in the request for proposal. It points out that the accuracy, precision, and repeatability of a wide range of manufacturing equipment (both CNC and PLC controlled machines) are determined by the control units that govern their actions, These machines are needed to produce critical components of modern weapons systems and armaments, as well as for their remanufacturing and repair. Examples are; submarine propellers, weapons components, gyroscope components, contoured composite parts for aircraft, jet engine disks, air-cooled blades, precision optics, and gun tubes.

Until recently domestic machine tool builders have steadily lost domestic and international market share. The defense industry and the DOD owned and operated production and maintenance facilities require continued and assured access to the latest, most capable controls and machine tools on the market if they are to retain technological superiority. This same need also exists in the private sector for non-defense work. Open architecture is envisioned as a way to achieve the latest control technology in less time and at lower cost permitting U.S. machine tool builders to stay competitive.

The OASYS Group who will develop, evaluate, and implement commercially available, open architecture machine tool controllers is a consortium of private and publicly owned companies formed just for this project. The consortium consists of: Automated Precision, Inc., Bridgeport Machine, Inc., Cleveland Machine Controls, Sensor Adaptive Machine, Inc., STEP Tools, Inc., and Wisdom Systems, Inc. with additional support provided by Boston Digital and Hurco.

The overall objective of the project is to establish an open architecture for machine tool controllers that is consistent with the evolving (SOSAS) specifications for an open system architecture standard. This is the same standard started under the USAF's next generation workstation/machine controller (NGC) project. Once the architecture is in place, the consortium will design and develop hardware and software that implements this architecture, install eight prototype controllers at six "real" manufacturing sites, and evaluate the results in terms of open architecture benefits. Controllers resulting from this contract will differ from the closed architecture controllers of the past in that the architecture will be defined and publicly documented to allow and encourage independent development of new controller components. The length of the project is estimated to be 32 months.

The six candidate evaluation sites have been selected to provide a diverse set of manufacturing requirements. They include: General Motors, Oak Ridge Centers for Manufacturing Technology, U.S. Army Waterveliet Arsenal, U.S. Army Tank Command Plant in Lima, OH, and two additional OASYS Group facilities. Thirteen additional companies will function as subcontractors by providing hardware, software and consulting services. Subcontractors include companies specializing in building CNCs, machine tools, and sensors as well as companies developing software. The evaluation phase is scheduled to be completed by October 1996.

Funding for this project will come from a cost-sharing arrangement between the Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III office and members of OASYS. DPA Title III was originally enacted in 1950 and reactivated by Congress in 1984. Its intent is to renew development of domestic production capacity for high technology materials needed for current and future weapons programs. The 1984 amended version authorizes the use of government purchases and purchase commitments to encourage private efforts to establish or expand industrial capacity, develop technical processes, and produce essential materials needed for national security.

The impact of Title III on machine controls, specifically CNCs, is yet to be determined. There are a number of tough problems yet to be resolved even after the Title III prototypes are successfully tested. A major one is how to bring together the responsibilities for all of the controllers various hardware and software parts with the necessary support activities such as warranty, service and technical support into a single point of responsibility in a business environment of multiple vendors. Today machine tool builders as well as end users treat the CNC as a system and have a single organization they can hold responsible for both the product and the support services. Open architecture controllers may shift this responsibility nearer to the end user. Some end users applaud this trend, others oppose it. Also, there is a group who feel we already have open architecture in the form of PC based controls but other users, some with loud voices, indicate they need yet a greater degree of controller openness. We will be watching this project very closely as it develops to assess its impact of the Title III project on the CNC industry.

GOLDEN E. HERRIN, Product Manager Cincinnati Milacron, Cincinnati, OH 45209