Expansion of ExDES Teaching System

Location

Devon:

Description

Exeter Digital Enterprise Systems (ExDES) lab is a key part of the engineering management research and PGT education, training students to generate and implement multi-disciplinary, advanced, and smart engineering applications in student-centred, and competence-orientated ways. ExDES currently consists in an Industry 4.0 demonstrator of 8 workstations, and AGV (Robotino) and a modelling & simulation multi-platform environment. The requested goods are three more stations and a desktop computer that must be seamlessly integrated in the current configuration: - A storage system; - A robot assembly station; - A human operated station; - A desktop computer capable to process and manage the significant volume of data and the multi-platform simulation capabilities.

Award Detail

Award Criteria

CPV Codes

• 48323000 - Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software package

Legal Justification

The existing system is controlled using the Festo MES4 application – a bespoke “Manufacturing Execution System” which distributes work orders to each part of the system, tracks products as they move around the system, and can make decisions about what to do in the event of work failures. The existing system works by tracking products, as they are moved around the system on “Pallets” which contain RFID chips, which are designed to be read/written by the Siemens/Turk RFID Read/Write heads, integrated into the conveyer belt line. The existing system communicates with the Robotino (AGV), and should provide suitable docking / exchange points. The existing system provides a digital twin via CIROS package. The extension proposed is designed to integrate with and expand the existing system, must therefore, as a minimum requirement: • Be tightly integrated with this specific MES4 application, and the PLC communication must conform the same API • Have a compatible RFID Read/Write system, with the same physical characteristics, so the carrier can be passed between systems. • Be compatible with the Robotino (AGV) docking system • Have an available CIROS Model, to allow for simulation of the expanded system. These are the reasons for which the procurement could be completed only from the supplier of the existing system.

Other Information

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