Work in progress - integrating technology for e-diagnosis of automated manufacturing system

Manufacturing automation and control technologies are critical for engineering education and essential to our national economic competitiveness. However, education in these subjects is often hindered by high student-to-faculty ratios, limited access to labs, and limited/outdated equipment to support lab assignments. Information technology can not only alleviate equipment access problems, but also make a variety of innovative and effective instructional approaches and technologies available to educators. This paper describes an ongoing effort to establish the feasibility of remote monitoring, operation, and diagnosis of an existing automated assembly system, to identify the issues involved in doing so, and to extend the system so that it can be used for tele-training. This will allow us to make manufacturing automation and control education available to anyone, anytime, anywhere. This paper focuses on the retrofitting of existing automated system, and integrating technologies include LabView software, a field-point communication module, a Web based simulation model, and a Webcam.