U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE STATEMENT OF SAMUEL KRAMER, DEPUTY DIRECTOR NATIONAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS BEFORE THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE AND TECHNOLOGY SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS AND OVERSIGHT JUNE 27, 1988 Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: It is a pleasure to appear before this Committee to describe the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) program in automation and in particular the program being conducted at our Automated Manufacturing Research Facility (AMRF). I will also describe some of our technology transfer activities which are focused on advanced manufacturing technology. The Automation Program at the National Bureau of Standards' National Engineering Laboratory is part of a coordinated NBS technical effort to support U.S. industry's improved productivity, quality control, and international competitiveness. It began in the 1970s with research on robotics and the development of a computer-controlled coordinate measuring machine. In 1980 we first introduced the twin concepts of an Automated Manufacturing Research Facility and a plan for transferring advanced manufacturing technology to American industry, especially to small- and medium-sized manufacturers. The foci of these activities were brought together in 1981 with the formation of the Center for Manufacturing Engineering. We have completed the construction of the AMRF. The entire facility now operates under computer control using an advanced control approach pioneered at NBS. This capability was successfully demonstrated in the December 1987 public test run to over 500 people from industry, academia, and government. To date, over 70 research associates representing about 40 companies and government agencies have worked alongside NBS staff at the AMRF. In addition, we have been affiliated with about 50 universities in the forms of sabbatical research arrangements, and postdoctoral and thesis research. Thirty-six private sector companies have loaned or donated equipment, tooling, and software for use in the AMRF totaling over $5.7 million. AMRF is but one facility (albeit a large one) in the overall automation program at NBS. The The automation program is carried out within the NBS National Engineering Laboratory which also conducts research in opto-electronics (photonics), the subject to be addressed by the next panel appearing before this Committee today. We had an opportunity recently to appear before another Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology to present testimony on photonics. We believe that the testimony presented at that hearing is pertinent and would like to present it to your Committee for the record. I will now discuss, in some detail, our automation and technology transfer activities. In the following sections I will present answers to some of the most common questions asked about the AMRF. What is the AMRF? The AMRF is a unique engineering laboratory at the NBS Center for The facility provides a basic array of Manufacturing Engineering. manufacturing equipment and systems--a "testbed" --that researchers from NBS, industrial firms, universities, and other government agencies can use to experiment with new standards and to study new methods of measurement and quality control for automated factories. The AMRF includes several types of modern automated machine tools, such as numerically controled (NC) milling machines and lathes, automated materialshandling equipment (to move parts, tools, and raw materials from one "workstation" to another), and a variety of industrial robots to tend the machine tools. The entire facility operates under full computer control. The AMRF incorporates some of the most advanced, most flexible automated manufacturing techniques in the world. Why has NBS built this facility? NBS, as the nation's primary laboratory for measurement science and engineering, has two principal goals for its automated manufacturing program: to supply American industry with a radically new way of making precisely machined parts--with dimensions that can be referenced to national measurement standards maintained by NBS--and to encourage the modernization of American manufacturing by providing the technical information necessary to develop standardized "interfaces" between various types of equipment. NBS also is using this facility as a testbed for research on the next generation of "knowledge-based" manufacturing systems that incorporate artificial intelligence capabilities. automation systems Who supports this research? In addition to NBS funding, the Navy's Manufacturing Technology Program is a major source of support. Several private firms and universities also contribute to AMRF research through the donation or loan of equipment or by providing personnel through the NBS Research Associate Program. The AMRF is an example of what can be achieved when industry, government, and academe cooperate. What is this "new way of making precise parts"? Historically, manufacture and measurement have always been two separate processes. A machinist would cut a part on a milling machine and stop periodically to check dimensions with calipers and gages. As manufacturing techniques became more and more efficient, the measurement part of the operation consumed an ever-greater percentage of the total work required to produce a part. The development of automated "coordinate-measuring machines" (CMMs) in the 1970s helped somewhat, but measurement still used up about 50 percent of the total time required to produce a precision part. It would be many times more efficient if the machining process could be made to produce accurate parts without being interrupted by the measuring process. Not only would it take less time, but fewer parts would have to be scrapped for being out-of-tolerance. (Some surveys have shown that in the U.S. one-third of the work force in manufacturing industries is engaged in re-work--correcting out-of-tolerance parts.) NBS research suggests that problem can be solved by use of today's computercontrolled machine tools, because the position of the cutting edge of the tool is known and controlled at all times, at least in theory, by the computer. The computer can be programmed to compensate for known errors in the machine's movement, using sensors that feed back information on the machine's condition. This concept of feedback and process control is well known in some industries, such as oil refining and chemical production. In discrete parts manufacturing, however, it will require the development of a whole new generation of sensors and control systems. This isn't all just theory. NBS researchers have already applied some of these ideas to commercial machine tools and improved their performance in terms of accuracy and control five to ten fold. Some of this research already is finding its way into the marketplace in new industrial machine controllers. |