Modeling production systems using virtual reality techniques

Industry needs software toolkit environments that integrate functions performed by engineers that are responsible for developing production systems. These toolkits would help engineers be more productive in the process of conceiving, designing, modeling, evaluating and planning the implementation of manufacturing systems. Although individual tools are available to perform some of these functions, integrated toolkits are not. The lack of common information models and interface standards inhibits the development of interoperable software tools. The Production System Engineering (PSE) project at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is working with U.S. Industry, academia, and a number of international collaborators to address this problem. One set of interfaces that is required for toolkit integration is between virtual reality (VR) simulations and other manufacturing engineering applications. Virtual manufacturing technology allows engineers to construct a virtual model of the production system and evaluate its performance before the physical system is implemented. The project team, working with the Black and Decker Corporation, selected a miter saw as a test case for production system engineering using virtual reality. This paper presents progress in developing techniques, VR simulation models, and toolkit interfaces for production systems engineering.