This book features the proceedings from an international forum to discuss issues related to factory control, monitoring, and information management. Authors from more than 18 countries have contributed over 100 papers, and each paper has been thoroughly refereed by two reviewers. The papers are organized into four principal themes: 1) manufacturing for a world marketplace, 2) systems integration and management, 3) flexible manufacturing, and 4) production processes. The conference provides a platform to address problems in relevant areas currently being encountered by industry and by research and development centers. The conference also focuses on state of the art and future trends within the general area of factory automation and information management. Industrial engineers, manufacturing managers, and anyone interested in computer-assisted manufacturing will find these proceedings to be extremely valuable.

Table of Contents:
INVITED PAPERS. Integration and Management of Manufacturing Systems (H.J. Warnecke). C.I.M. Dilemma (Dermot Whelan and James A. Fitzgerald). Automated Assembly Systems (Rolf D. Schraft). U.S. Forest Products Industry: Positioned to Serve World Markets (T. Marshall Hahn, Jr.). Paradigm Shifts in Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (Arden L. Bement, Jr.). Eolas Support for Industrial Development in Ireland (J.M. McBride). Basic Tasks of Knowledge Processing in Design (G. Spur, Frank L. Krause, and Clemens M. Lehmann). Productivity Improvement in Industry (Liam Connelan). Manufacturing in the New World (Barbara A. Burns). MANUFACTURING FOR A WORLD MARKETPLACE. Contrast in Commitment to Technological Innovation (Paul E. Torgesen). Achieving World Class Quality and Productivity Management: The Role of Measurement (D. Scott Sink). A Life-Cycle Approach to Factory Design and Development (Benjamin S. Blanchard). A Business Approach to Designing for Simplicity Techniques (Leonard A. Morgan). Automated Factories and the Business Challenges of the 1990s (Robert J. Cavanaugh). Technology Isn't Enough (George L. Smith). A CIM Architecture and Implementation in a Truck Company to Become a World Class Manufacturer: Fostering the North American Economic Community (Jose Pablo Nuño, Dan L. Shunk, and Miguel Cruz-y-Celis). The Evolution of Intelligent Manufacturing Processes (Wilfried König, Clemens Schmitz-Justen, Rafael Bieker, Axel R. Werner). A General Solution to the FMS Design Problem Within CIM (Paul G. Ranky). Grid Configured Video Computer Information and Control Network for Continuous or Batch Manufacturing (Cecil G. Johnson and Gray W. Johnson). Manufacturing Systems Engineering Training for Radical Change (Charles E. Hutchin). WPI's Innovative Approach to Manufacturing Education Involving Industry, Government, and Academia (Donald N. Zwiep). SYSTEMS INTEGRATION AND MANAGEMENT. An Approach to CIM (Donald Walshe). LEGA: An Efficient Computer-Aided Generator of Assembly Plans (Jean-Michel Henrioud and Alain Bourjault). Machining of Advanced Engineering Ceramics (Gerald Byrne). Joint-Level Thermal Modelling of Infra Red Reflow for Different Termination Geometries (Paul P. Conway, David J. Williams and David C. Whalley). Intelligent Simulation Interface: 5 Year Review (Paul J. Nolan). Crospy an Object-Oriented Multi-Layered Approach to Multi-Resource Production Scheduling (Pierre Gaspart, E. Falkenauer and P. Lecocq). A Comprehensive Object Oriented Modeling Environment for Manufacturing Systems (Joe H. Mize and David B. Pratt). Information Integration at Aughinish Alumina Ltd: From Conception to Reality (William G. Fennelly). Advanced Systems and CIMS in an Aluminum Plant (Frank H. Cormia). Software Generation of Manufacturing System Control (George Haritos, Malcolm D. Butler, Peter J. King and Swadin K. Ghosh). The Application of Artificial Intelligence to Manufacturing Cell Formation (Heiko Schäfer and John A. Brandon). The New Face of Group Technology in the Light of Recent Developments in Information Technology (Heiko Schäfer and John A. Brandon). Temporal Performances Evaluation of the M.M.S. Services Supported by M.A.P. Network (Jean-Yves Bron, Kamal Daoudi and Michel Vernon). A Relational Data Model for Maintenance of Manufacturing Systems (Emmanuel S. Eneyo and Moshe M. Barash). Integration Framework Using Parametric Design Solid Modeling (Unny Menon and Tao Yang). Qualifying 3-Dimensional Laser Beam Welding for Use in the Automotive Industry (Heinze Haferkamp, Thomas Vinke and Rainer Benecke). Modeling Minimap as Process Control Function Blocks (J.C. Valadier, B. Hautbergue, F. Neves, Jr. and K.V.O. Fonseca). Designing Integrated Manufacturing Operations (Kenneth A. Fegley and C. Nelson Dorny). FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING (FAS, IMS, CAD, CAM, SMT). Rapid Acquisition of Manufactured Parts (Jerald B. Gartman and James P. O'Brien). Distributed Motion Control with Independent Actuators (Tapio K. Virvalo and Pertti K. Puusaari). Process Knowledge Bases: A Framework for Continuous Process Improvement (X. Liu, K.J. Dooley and J.C. Anderson). Robot Trajectory Planning by a Continuation Method (Thiagaraj Subbian, Donald R. Flugrad and Patrick Kavanagh). The Analysis and Design of a Low-Cost, High Speed Cartesian-Motion Robot (Larry M. Garrett and Frank H. Speckhart). Technical Support Considerations for Improving Device Interfacing and Data Collection in the Automated Factory (Donald J. Knapp). Choosing the Proper Palette for Real-Image Representation (Michael Semenov). Straight Line Maneuvers for a Manipulator Including Position and Rate Information (Alan G. Lynch and Joseph R. Baumgarten). Off-Line Programming for Vision (William F. Diggin and Michael Hillery). Improving the Certainty of a Manufacturing Management System (V.I. Vitanov, D.K. Harrison, J.F. O'Kane and S.K. Ghosh). Preliminary Study on Developing an Expert System for Tape Automated Bonding (Frank A. Stam and M. Munir Ahmad). Flexible Manufacturing Concept for Wire Harness Assembly (E. Aguirre, B. Raucent and J.C. Samin). Advances in Screen Printing of Solder Paste for Surface Mount Technology (Thomas A. Molamphy, Malcolm I. Stephenson and Eamonn A. Murphy). The Effect of Single and Dual Resource Flexibilities on the Performance of Functional Versus Cellular Layouts (Roberta S. Russell, Philip Y. Huang and Yow Y. Leu). The CIM Experience at Analog Devices B.V. (Maurice M. Murphy and M. Munir Ahmad). A Flexible Electronic Controller for a Manipulator-Type Robot (Patrick J. Gibbs, Frederick J. Jones and John V. Ringwood). Shoe Sole Injection Moulds by Computer Aided Manufacturing (A.C. Ferreira, C.H. Ahrens, J.J. Espinosa and R.D. Cunha). A Prototype for an Artificial Intelligence Based System for Automated Manufacturing Control (Bevlee A. Watford and Robert P. Davis). Noncontact Body Measurement for Automated Apparel Manufacturing (Henry L. Pfister and Henry D. Pfister). Programming, Documentation, and Program Reduction Techniques for PLC's (Ian Durnin and Hassan Kaghazchz). Ergonomics and Automation (Michael W. Riley and Terry L. Stentz). Managing Manufacturer Quality Improvement (Marlin U. Thomas). Methodology for Data Link Layer Performance Analysis of Fieldbus (M.W. Costa De Aguiar and J.M. Farines). Sensor Comparison for Use in Automated Vehicle Refueling (John S. Bay, Mangal D. Chawla and Hugh F. VanLandingham). Expert System for Producibility Analysis (Deasún O. Conchuir and Brendan Jackman). A Framework to Assist in the Incremental Implementation of a CIM System: A Case Study (Margery Perko and Timothy J. Greene). Design of a Cost Estimating System for Concurrent Engineering (Julius P. Wong, Hamid R. Parsaei and Donald H. Liles). Adaptive Control of Coordinating Robot Arms (Ponch E. Bhatia and Mark W. Spong). Extended Kalman Filter Applied to AGV Position Estimation (Sang R. Lee and Stephen L. Dickerson). A Hierarchical Parallel Distributed Approach for Shop Floor Scheduling (John F.C. Khaw). Object-Oriented Programming in CAD/CAPP Integration (Gerald R. Graves and Sandeepan Banerjee). Solving the Facility Layout Problem with Blocplan (Charles E. Donaghey and Vanina F. Pire). Information Sharing Promotes Quick Changeover in Manufacturing Cells (Roderick J. Reasor). Communication Architectures for Distributed Manufacturing Environments (Tom Coffey and Weijun Wang). Design of an Intelligent Gripper for Advanced Robotic Application (Ning Ye, Maurice Bétemps and Alain J. Jutard). Development & Operation of an Integrated Flexible Assembly System (D. O'Sullivan, P. Fitzpatrick, M. Carroll and N. O'Toole). Distributed Control of Robotic Assembly Cells (Thomas Halpin, M. Munir Ahmad and Hasan Kaghazchi). CAD/CAM Integration: The Product Data Management System (Martin Devilly). The Development of a Robotic Compliance Control System (Jun Yan, Mohie A. El Baradie and Saleem M.J. Hashmi). The Role of CAD/CAM Database in Computer Integrated Manufacturing (M. Munir Ahmad, Margaret O'Callaghan and James Oliver). PRODUCTION PROCESSES. Application of Conductive Adhesives to Surface Mount Technology PCB Assembly (Raul Mirand, Hamid R. Parsaei and Sudhindra Bangalore). PCAAD-An Object-Oriented Expert System for Assembly of Printed Circuit Boards (Sisir K. Padhy and Suren N. Dwivedi). A Low Cost System to Inspect for Presence and Positioning of Chip Resistors and Capacitors on Printed Circuit Boards (Thomas J. McLean, Kenneth W. Chapman and Carlos M. Carreon). Visualization and Manipulation of Design Related Information and Knowledge (Samir Karandikar, Bert Bras and Farrokh Mistree). The Design of a Petri Net Controller from an IDEFO Specification (Thomas O. Boucher and Mohsen A. Jafari). Management System for Computer Integrated Manufacturing with Different Automation Levels (Henrique Rozenfield and Sérgio Takahashi). A Methodology for Implementing a Cellular Manufacturing System in the Parts Manufacturing Plant (Rasaratnam Logendran, Nudtapon Nudtasomboon and Doug Magnuson). A Knowledge Based System for Cellular Manufacturing (Sunderesh S. Heragu). The Dressing of Metal Bonded CBN Grinding Wheels Using Electro Discharge Machining (John E. Williams and Frank Mullett). Machining of Sculptured Surfaces Using an Integrated CAD/CAM System and Coordinate Measuring Machine (M. Munir Ahmad, Philip G. Ryan and Maurice Doran). Optimization of Tool Switching Instants on FMS Using Simulated Annealing (A. Fennel and M.A. Rahman). Reactive Workshop Scheduling Based on Alternative Routings (Ulrich Beckendorff, Jochen Kreutzfeldt and Werner Ullmann). Development of a Closed Loop Inspection System Based on Coordinate Measuring Technology (Post-Process Gauging) in a Cellular Manufacturing Environment (Alberto J. Alvares and Carlos A. Schneider). An Automated Optimiser for Data Flow in Manufacturing (S.T. Burke, B. Shirvani, A.D. Hope and W. Lawrenz). Chronic Acid Recovery and Purification from Electroplating (Alan W. Duffill). An Automated Intelligent Machining System for Prismatic Parts (Robert L. Sakal and Joe G. Chow). Automated Manufacturing Cell for Prototypes (Fred J. Robinson and Mark A. Fugelso). Developing an Expert Scheduling System for a Sheet-Metal Rolling Plant (Robert A. Boutilier and Allan L. Jenkins). A Hierarchical Model for Flexible Manufacturing System Control (Ronald G. Askin and Manbir S. Sodhi). Methodology for Test and Validation of Shop Floor Control Systems (Kim Siggaard and Leo Alting). An Expert Controller in a F.M.S. Management (R. Mosca, P. Giribone, M. Schenone, A. Drago). How the Workpiece Metallurgical Properties Can Influence the Process Planning in Automatised Production (F. Le Maitre, M. Dannawi and K.L. Han). Industrial Plant Model Implementation by Petri Nets (Salvador F. Capuz Rizo and Salvador Grau Pascual). AUTHORS INDEX.