D-research And Development Of The Fms Control System Upgrade

After a certain period of operation, defaults in hardware and software have been found in some FMSs in China, which were introduced from aboard or developed in domestic in 1980s. The defaults include: 1) systems are often broken down due to aged compenens; 2) imported systems, which have no specfied data, aren't maintained well; 3) primiary systems, which only have single functions, don't meet the needs of mixing machining of varieties parts. Therefore it is necessary to reengineer or upgrade these FMSs to restore or elevate their operation.hi this paper, some research and development work are introduced for repairing and upgrading an FMS, i.e., Denford FMS. The main efforts are: 1) taking Pentium II computer to replace IBM PS/2, expending communication interface by MOXA C104P; 2) building a new control system with KOYO SZ-4 PLC as the nuclus; 3) putting forword and setting up a distributed control structure; 4)developing a new control software with more and higher functions to upgrade the control system; 5) achieving the system functions of dynamic scheduling and real-time animation. As a result, the new FMS has resumed normal operation and has shown a higher performance.The method and techniques reported in this paper could be taken as a useful reference for other FMSs' reengineering.