This book provides an overview of advanced manufacturing technology in Japan. It describes the prevalent manufacturing engineering concepts and highlights the current applications, technologies and systems in Japanese manufacturing industry.

This exploration of the technical and engineering aspects of automated production systems provides a comprehensive and balanced coverage of the subject. It covers cutting-edge technologies of production automation and material handling, and how these technologies are used to construct modern manufacturing systems.

This introductory text, which requires no prerequisites examines the components used in automated systems. It provides a balanced coverage of sensors, actuators, controllers and control theory and discusses some special-purpose automation components, automation systems and automation concepts. The text is unique in its clear, complete coverage of servosystems.

Written for the technologist or engineer who wants a clear picture of the basic concepts and real-world application of computer-integrated manufacturing, this book's features include: systems approach - demonstration of how CIM fits into current manufacturing systems and how the technology is used to solve actual industrial problems; interdisciplinary coverage - which includes engineering, business and production considerations for decision making; applications - the CIM model used here is consistent with the SME new manufacturing enterprise wheel developed by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers; and simulation software - the problem sets refer to simulation software so that readers can see a manufacturing operation under realistic production constraints.

This book tells how to develop a successful factory information system to manage and control computer integrated manufacturing (CIM)operations. It is directed and dedicated to those people who are involved in the preservation and enhancement of historical manufacturing strength.

Modem manufacturing systems involve many processes and operations that can be monitored and controlled at several levels of intelligence. At the highest level there is a computer that supervises the various manufacturing functions, whereas at the lowest level there are stand alone computer controlled systems of manufacturing processes and robotic cells. Until recenty computer-aided manufacturing systems constituted isolated "islands" of automation, each oriented to a particular application, but present day systems offer integrated approaches to manufacturing and enterprise operations. These modem systems, known as computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) systems, can easily meet the current performance and manufacturing competitiveness requirements under strong environmental changes. CIM systems are much of a challenge, and imply a systemic approach to the design and operation of a manufacturing enterprise. Actualy, a CIM system must take into account in a unified way the following three views : the user view, the technology view, and the enterprise view. This means that CIM includes both the engineering and enterprise planning and control activities, as well as the information flow activities across all the stages of the system.

This up-to-date and accessible text deals with the basics of Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) and the many advances made in the field. It begins with a discussion on automation systems, and gives the historical background of many of the automation technologies. Then it moves on to describe the various techniques of automation such as group technology and flexible manufacturing systems. The text describes several production techniques, for example, just-in-time (JIT), lean manufacturing and agile manufacturing, besides explaining in detail database systems, machine functions, and design considerations of Numerical Control (NC) and Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines, and how the CIM system can be modelled. The book concludes with a discussion on the industrial application of artificial intelligence with the help of case studies, in addition to giving network application and signalling approaches. Intended primarily as a text for the undergraduate and graduate students of mechanical, production, and industrial engineering and management, the text should also prove useful for the professionals in the field.