Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Manufacturing and Automation

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Because most products can be made more cheaply outside its boundaries the United States is slowly losing its manufacturing base. Companies are now recognizing that they must improve their productivity if they are to maintain a market share in world markets. Research addressing manufacturing systems that are cost effective is necessary to maintain our productivity and position in world trade. Companies are now recognizing and supporting research on manufacturing. Because of this increasing interest by companies, an Industry/University Cooperative Research Center on Manufacturing and Automation now appears to be both feasible and viable. This five.year continuing grant is initiating an Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Manufacturing and Automation at the University of Southern California and the University of California.Los Angeles in collaboration with the California Institute of Technology, the Universities of California Irvine and Santa Barbara, and Arizona State University. The initial research program is addressing: 1) An Intelligent System for Automatic Generation of Manufacturing Process Plans; 2) Geometric Modeling and its Applications in Design and Manufacturing Automation; 3) Automatic Generation of Optimal Cutting Conditions for NC Machines in CAD/CAM; 4) Multi.Robot Assembly Process Planning and Scheduling; 5) Design for Automatic Assembly and Maintenance; 6) Intelligent Simulation Systems for Automated Factories; 7) Sensor Based Robot Systems for Automated Manufacturing in a Vacuum Environment; 8) Dynamic Scheduling for Automated Manufacturing. Four companies have joined the Center and another four have said they will join at the beginning of the year when new budgets are available. Industrial support will provide 40% of the Center's $1,000,000 initial budget and should increase to 60% during the first year. The State of California has budgeted $200,000/year to augment the Center's research. The Co.Principal Investigators and all his colleagues involved in the Center are noted experts in there fields and have the expertise and industrial relationships to operate this Center. This Center is being cost shared with the Division of Design, Manufacturing, and Computer.Integrated Engineering. The Program Manager recommends the University of Southern California (and five associated universities) be awarded a five.year continuing grant to be funded at $400,000 per year. This includes $100,000 per year from the Division of Design, Manufacturing, and Computer.Integrated Engineering. .FF. Near the end of each 12.month period, the Program Manager and/or the Head of The Division of Cross.Disciplinary Research will review the progress of the Center on a number of renewal criteria, including the following: (1) extent to which university/industry interaction and collaboration is developing; (2) extent to which the support base for the center is expanding; (3) extent to which a robust research program is developing; (4) As industrial support increases, all participating universities are to achieve a fair share as determined by the.j.industrial advw is satisfactory, the Program ll recommend support of the next period of this tinuing grant.