Web-based rapid machining in distributed manufacturing environment

In the area of discrete part machining, companies in job shop operations are challenged frequently by the variety of products in small batch sizes. These challenges become even more critical with the manufacturing decentralization and out-sourcing, where design offices and machining shop floors may not be co-located. To remain competitive in a global market, collaborative manufacturing is the norm for such companies. The objective of this research is to develop a framework named WiseShopFloor as well as the enabling technologies for collaborative manufacturing in a decentralized environment. Particularly, this paper presents our latest development on web-based rapid machining. Once a product design is given, its process plan and NC codes are generated by using a distributed process planning (DPP) system. The NC codes are then used for remote machining through a standard web browser and a Java GUI interface running inside of the browser. In this paper, the focus is given to the concept, architecture and prototype implementation of the enabling technology. A case study of a test part machining on a 5-axis milling machine is also completed for testing and validation. It is expected that the developed baseline technology can be applied to design verification through rapid machining and real part production in distributed manufacturing environment.