Research in the Flexible Manufacturing Laboratory.

Abstract

Systems research in the Flexible Manufacturing Laboratory (FML) consists of two thrust areas. The overall objective of the FMC research is concerned with interfacing various activities from design to component manufacturing. This includes such topics as the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in process planning, manufacturability evaluation via expert systems, and use of standardization within the cell. The research in magnetic bearings is concerned with control , stabilization of rotors , flywheels at high rotational speeds. Specific topics include the use of magnetic bearing spindles for machine tools, magnetic bearings for attitude control , energy storage in space, finally magnetic bearings for active vibration control in centrifuges , turbines for industrial use.