Control of a facility is performed in accordance with a common action plan. Further, a plurality of controllers provided in the facility are caused to control the facility in coordination. A control coordination apparatus includes a control information generation unit and a control information transmission unit. The control information generation unit generates control data which include information for specifying a control content of the facility to be controlled by the plurality of controllers and are received by each of the controllers, from an action plan file which includes an action plan made by an action plan generation apparatus and is generated by the action plan generation apparatus. The control information transmission unit transmits the control data to each of the controllers on the basis of facility design information including information on connection with the facility.

A method for use in an automated wireless industrial system comprising a device configured to act as a control node and at least one field level device, wherein the method comprises: issuing a control communication; inserting at least one time delay (tk) to the control communication; noting the communication time (TCL) for the communication; comparing the time for communication (TCL) to an expected time for communication (TR); and determining if any of the at least one time delay (tk) should be adapted, and if so, adapting at least that time delay.

To reduce wasteful memory consumption as compared with prior art in the case of a greater number of machine configuration trees subjected to switching by a numerical control device. A control system for an industrial machine including a machine configuration editing device and a machine configuration management device is configured to represent a machine configuration to be controlled in a graph-like machine configuration tree having constituent elements as nodes. The machine configuration editing device acquires machine configuration data for generating the machine configuration tree. The machine configuration management device includes a machine configuration tree generation portion configured to generate a plurality of the machine configuration trees on the basis of the machine configuration data and a node information change portion configured to generate a single machine configuration tree having a branch node set at a position corresponding to a boundary between common nodes and different nodes in the plurality of machine configuration trees and having the different nodes in the plurality of machine configuration trees so as to branch from the branch node toward tips.

A manufacturing system for processing workpieces includes a manufacturing cell, a plurality of pallets supporting workpieces, and at least one robotic device configured to operate on the workpieces. The manufacturing system also includes first and second processing stations configured to support any one of the pallets in fixed position relative to the robotic device. The manufacturing system additionally includes at least one transport device configured to transport any one of the pallets to and from each of the first and the second processing stations. In addition, the manufacturing system includes a controller configured to coordinate the operation of the manufacturing cell in a manner allowing the robotic device to continuously operate on a workpiece supported by a pallet at the first processing station, while another pallet is transported to or from the second processing station.

A press forming system includes a press working unit, a material supply device, a detection device, and a control device. The press working unit includes a slide that moves in accordance with an operation pattern in which the slide passes through an advance position where press forming is formed from a withdrawal position, and returns to the withdrawal position. The material supply device starts a supply operation at a synchronous timing before the slide returns from the advance position to the withdrawal position. The control device performs a control for stopping the slide before the slide reaches the withdrawal position from the advance position in a case where the suppliable state of the forming material is not detected within a predetermined determination period by the detection device.

A method for depositing composite material onto a tool using an automated machine. The method includes coupling a first mobile platform with a second mobile platform to form a coupled system, the first mobile platform supporting the automated machine and the second mobile platform supporting the tool. The method further includes indexing the automated machine relative to the tool. The method further includes depositing composite material from the automated machine onto the tool while the coupled system moves along a production line.

The present disclosure provides a configuration of a control device that is capable of controlling the execution timing, etc. of multiple application programs when the multiple programs are executed in parallel in addition to a sequence program in a single control device. In the control device, when a first application program includes a first special command and a second application program includes a second special command, a command calculation part outputs a control command according to commands described after the first special command in the first application program and a control command according to commands described after the second special command in the second application program on the basis of a common timing.

A method for use in an automated wireless industrial system comprising a device (100, 210,220) configured to act as a control node and at least one field level device (100), 230), wherein the method comprises: issuing a control communication (510); inserting at least one5 time delay (tk) to the control communication (520); noting (530) the communication time (TCL) for the communication; comparing (540) the time for communication (TCL) to an expected time for communication (TR); and determining (550) if any of the at least one time delay (tk) should be adapted, and if so, adapting at least that time delay (560).

A method and a system stream robot tool center point position to external processors at high frequency. The method includes the steps of: reading robot joint encoder data using an Interrupt Service Routine in the robot controller; calculating tool center point position based on the encoder data; and sending the calculated position data to a network socket in a high priority task. The method achieves tool center point and/or joint position communication at fast and consistent time intervals, as compared to much longer times for prior art methods. A downstream device, such as a processor or controller for another machine, reads the communicated tool center point and/or joint position data and uses it to control the operations of its own device. High speed motion command streaming from outside processors can be used in a similar way to control the robot.

To reduce wasteful memory consumption as compared with prior art in the case of a greater number of machine configuration trees subjected to switching by a numerical control device. A control system for an industrial machine including a machine configuration editing device and a machine configuration management device is configured to represent a machine configuration to be controlled in a graph-like machine configuration tree having constituent elements as nodes. The machine configuration editing device acquires machine configuration data for generating the machine configuration tree. The machine configuration management device includes a machine configuration tree generation portion configured to generate a plurality of the machine configuration trees on the basis of the machine configuration data and a node information change portion configured to generate a single machine configuration tree having a branch node set at a position corresponding to a boundary between common nodes and different nodes in the plurality of machine configuration trees and having the different nodes in the plurality of machine configuration trees so as to branch from the branch node toward tips.