Norman Gwangwava, Khumbulani Mpofu, Nkgatho Tlale, and Yan Yu
Reconfigurable Manufacturing System (RMS), Reconfigurable Bending Press Tool (RBPT), Sheet Metal Bending
Reconfiguration enables machine tools to be quickly ramped up for new configurations in order to meet dynamic, unprecedented and changing customer requirements. The main enabler of a machine tool’s reconfigurability is a modular design approach. The technique has been widely applied in material removal (machining) processes but little effort has been dedicated towards the design of reconfigurable bending press tools (RBPTs). The paper fully explains a function-driven object oriented (FUDOO) methodology for the design and reconfiguration of RBPTs. The complete method aims to optimize initial design of RBPTs, followed by subsequent design of RPBT modules which will be stored in a library module, and finally achieving full-automatic reconfiguration of the RBPTs. The methodology can be implemented on a virtual reality platform as a design support system to help machine designers and also as a crucial tool for use in a typical sheet metal bending environment to efficiently achieve reconfiguration in order to meet new customer requirements.
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