Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2013) 66:10651073

DOI 10.1007/s00170-012-4389-4

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

A methodology for the implementation of automated

measuring stations in flexible manufacturing systems
A. Sanz & I. Gonzlez & J. Casado & J. M. Arenas

Received: 30 January 2012 / Accepted: 10 July 2012 / Published online: 24 July 2012
# Springer-Verlag London Limited 2012

Abstract This paper presents a methodology for the inclusion of an automated measuring station in an existing flexible manufacturing system (FMS) by treating the measuring
station as a workstation integrated into the FMS. This approach causes minimal distortion of the FMS work functions and does not depend on the control algorithms
implemented on the system. A case study based on an
FMS located at the Aeronautical Centre is presented. The
FMS used in the case study is called CFF-ETSIA. This
system contains the main elements needed in a FMS: two
computer numerical control machine tools for machining
and two industrial robots for handling and manipulating.
The measuring station in the case study is implemented with
one of the robots used to perform the necessary actions of
measurement and manipulation.
Keywords FMS . Measurement . Automation . Numerical
control

1 Introduction
From its earliest implementations [1, 2] to the present,
flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) have been of great
interest in many knowledge fields, including operations
research [3, 4], production management [5, 6], quality [7],
A. Sanz (*) : I. Gonzlez : J. Casado
Department of Aerospace Materials and Production, ETSI
Aeronuticos, Universidad Politcnica de Madrid,
Plaza Cardenal Cisneros 3,
28040 Madrid, Spain
e-mail: a.slobera@upm.es
J. M. Arenas
Department of Industrial Design, EUIT Industrial Universidad
Politcnica de Madrid,
Madrid, Spain

applied mathematics [8], simulation [9], and control theory

[10], due to their high level of automation. In the1980s and
the 1990s, the popularity of FMS increased significantly,
and a large body of literature and related works were published during this period, as presented in Fig. 1.
Since the late1990s, the number of publications on this
topic has decreased. This trend has mainly occurred due to
such economic constraints as market instability or the high
investment requirements for this type of system [11]. In any
case, and despite almost 40 years in existence, new contributions continue to appear in an effort to improve the
complex operation of these systems [12, 13]. Over the years,
a majority of the literature on FMS has approached the topic
from the control logic point of view and has only provided
details regarding the information used to perform the system
actions. In this sense, the present paper describes the detailed information flow required in an FMS to demonstrate a
high level of similarity between the required and the manipulated information on the workstations and in the automated
measuring stations.
FMS, similar to many other production systems, can be
described as a variable number of workstations in which the
components undergo an observable or measurable transformation [14]. As the process continues, the manufactured
parts are randomly transferred from one station to another
until they have completed the number of required operations. Typically, the parts are not required to follow a predetermined sequence [14] but rather to follow a sequence
established by the control station according to the production conditions, the criteria of the programmed logic and the
system status at any given moment.
The number, the type, and the configuration of the workstations depend, among other factors, on the FMS type such
that the units may differ significantly from one system to
another. Certain authors assume that the FMS can only consist
of automated stations while others extend the definition in such

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2 Automated measuring stations

As the name suggests, a measuring station allows checks of
part specifications, usually from a geometric property point
of view. The use of measuring stations in an FMS is appropriate when an on-process geometric verification is required
and allows the incorporation of statistical process control in
the FMS or the evaluation of process capability, among
other possibilities.
The hardware and software devices contained in an automated measuring station can vary widely depending on
what types of measurements are carried out. Nevertheless, in
addition to their technical specifications, the following three
essential units should be distinguished in every measuring
station:
Fig. 1 FMS-related published articles

a way that semi-automated stations or even manual stations can

be included [15]. Although this approach may seem to represent a contradiction from an automation point of view, and
indeed from the concept of an FMS itself, the production
realities lead to this type of hybrid system (combining automatic, semiautomatic, or even manual workstations) for certain
situations, e.g., in the hand assembly of a part.
The most common type of FMS reference by this paper is
that based on workstations that incorporate numerical control machine tools and in which production mainly consists
of the machining of parts according to certain dimensional
specifications. The present paper demonstrates that the measuring stations can be considered as a special type of workstation. With the proposed approach, a measuring station
can be integrated into an FMS in the same way as any other
workstation.
Fig. 2 Sketch of the measuring
station

1. Load/unload unit: responsible for exchanging the parts

between the given station and the rest of the system as
well as for the internal manipulations inside the station.
2. Measuring unit: formed by the measuring instruments
and the reference element for calibration, including the
devices for transmission of the information to the control unit.
3. Control unit: responsible for the correct operation of the
station and communication with the head control of the
system.
Figure 2 shows a typical configuration for an automated
measuring station in which the three mentioned units are noted.
As mentioned above, the operations in an FMS can be
understood as the transformations that parts undergo while
inside the system. In this context, the word transformation
should be considered in a broad sense to cover the different
types of changes or modifications experienced by the parts
in the FMS. Figure 3 shows selected examples of potential

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3.1 Process matrix

Fig. 3 Examples of transformations in an FMS

transformations that occur in an FMS. Thus, a transformation not only modifies the geometry or any other physical
property of the part but also any other information related to
the part, e.g., measuring of values, determining locations, or
assessing assembly conditions, etc.
Within this approach, both the workstations and measuring stations are able to receive similar treatment from the
FMS control system regardless of the activity carried out.
This approach is useful for the implementation of an automated measuring system within an FMS.
This paper presents the main steps required to build an
automated measuring station into a FMS from the control
system point of view. It is assumed that there exists an FMS
with scheduling algorithms, software and hardware devices
that are defined and currently in use. The methodology is
explained and an application example is shown on a real FMS.

3 Process information
Incorporation of a new workstation in an FMS generates
many changes at several levels of the system. The FMS
layout must be modified, and new handling devices or
new tasks for the existing devices must be added. The
FMS control requires new communication devices within
the new hardware, and the system information must be
updated to take into account the new station.
The successful incorporation of a measuring station in an
FMS strongly depends on how the process information is
defined, structured, and stored. Any transformation inside
the system requires new actions to be performed, and these
actions must be properly codified for correct interpretation
and execution. For this reason, a process definition must be
carried out within a general scope, regardless of the type of
station considered. With this aim, the process information
can be collected in two matrices designed as the process
matrix and the handling matrix, which are described below.

Initially, the process information can be expressed as a

sequence of operations. Each sequence can be randomly
executed or not executed depending on the constituent elements of the FMS and on the nature of the transformations
to be carried out on each part. Thus, the definition of the
process information can initially begin with a table (matrix)
of mn entries, called the process matrix. Each row of the
process matrix represents an FMS-STation, and each column represents an FMS-OPeration, as shown in Table 1.
Each type of manufactured part will have its own process
matrix. Every entry different from zero, or aij 0, indicates
that the i station STi has the ability to carry out the j
operation OPj such that this entry will contain additional
information. Such information depends on both the stations
and the nature of the operations and usually will require the
definition of k independent values. Therefore, for each part,
the process matrix has the dimensions of mnk, where m
is the number of stations in the FMS, n is the number of
operations to be performed, and k is the number of independent data associated with each operation. Although the
operating actions can differ significantly from one station
to another, the incorporation of a station in an FMS should
be implemented independently of each stations peculiarities. To do so from a process information point of view, the
two following stations are considered:
1. Workstations: The operations carried out in a workstation modify the physical properties of the manufactured part. The most frequently used operations
change the part geometry, and this modification is
usually carried out by means of the execution of
one or more programs in a NC machine tool. Nevertheless, other changes of physical properties can
be considered as the results of operations carried out
in a workstation. The basic operation of a workstation is the execution of only one NC program. If
more than one program is needed, it is always
possible to break down the operation into several
basic operations. On this assumption, the required
process information begins with the part and its
associated NC program identification. This part of

Table 1 Process matrix

FMS-OP1
FMS-ST1
FMS-ST2

FMS-STm
X0no null value

FMS-OP2

FMS-OPn

X
X
X

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the data is initially drawn from the main control of

the FMS and distributed to each of the station
control units. The information is completed with
the offsets of the NC program as well as the tools
to be used, including their location in the machine
(turret or tool warehouse) and their corresponding
compensations.
2. Measuring stations: The operations carried out in a
measuring station essentially consist of the sequential execution of one or more measurements over
one or more part specifications. Although there is
no numerical control equipment that performs the
measurements in this case, the station must contain
several devices that are able to execute measurements. The actions needed to perform the measurements are equivalent to those actions carried out
during the execution of an NC program, even
though they may be performed using a manual or
semiautomatic method. The required process information begins with the identification of the part and
the associated measurement program. This information is completed with the use of a certain measuring tool and one or more measuring instruments
chosen from among those available in the station. In
certain cases, the calibration procedure should be
available, although consideration of the calibration
as an independent operation is preferable.
As can be observed, there is much similarity in the data
associated to the process matrix that is independent of the
type of station considered. Table 2 summarizes the most
relevant data from each operation associated with the process matrix assuming a numerical control workstation and a
dimensional measuring station.

Table 2 Summary of associated data of the process matrix

ID Work station (numerical
control machine tool)

Measurement station
(Dimensional)

1
2

Operation name
NC program (designation)

Program file location (host,

unit, path and file
identification)
Fixing tooling(tooling type
and utilization mode)
Tool set (type of tools,
compensations and
placement in the tool
changer)
Offsets set (origin coordinate
values and storage registries)
Execution time

Operation name
Measurement program
(designation)
Program file location (host, unit,
path and file identification)

4
5

6
7

Measuring tooling (tooling type

and utilization mode)
Measuring tool set(instrument
type and placement in the
measurement tooling)
Calibration set (instrument
reference values)
Execution time

3.2 Handling matrix

In addition to the data collected in the process matrix, the
information that gathers the data regarding the possible
movements of the parts through the system is also required.
This information is stored in two-dimensional table (matrix)
called the handling matrix, a square matrix in which the
rows and columns represent the spatial locations in which
the parts can be located (stations, intermediate positions or
warehouses, etc.). Every non-null entry in row i and column
j of the handling matrix indicates the possibility of moving
the part between the i th and the jth locations. The handling
matrix is symmetrical if the transport between all locations
is bidirectional and uses the same resources. Each entry in
the handling matrix must contain the information needed to
carry out the corresponding transfer of the part between the
ith and jth locations. The aforementioned information
depends on the available handling resources and on the
nature of the locations. The incorporation of a new workstation or measuring station into the system does not affect
the previous handling matrix values but only increased its
size as a result of the appearance of new locations in the
same way as it would increase if a new workstation was
incorporated.
3.3 Process execution
By reading the stored information from the process and
handling matrixes, the system control is ready to execute
the manufacturing process by applying the production criteria required in each case. For this scenario, a large amount
of literature has been published that proposes different
methods for carrying out the scheduling. This observation
demonstrates that an optimal scheduling approach does not
yet exist, and every system must incorporate best choice
that depends on the individual goals of the system. The
CFFETSIA is not a complex system, and therefore the
implementation of the scheduling algorithms is not as important as in more complex systems. The main implemented
algorithms are based on neural networks [16, 17], genetic or
evolutionary algorithms [1820], fuzzy logic [21, 22], Petri
nets [2325], or ant colony optimisation [26, 27], among
others. Regardless of the scheduling implemented, the algorithm system control must include the process sequence for
each part, the route or possible routes to be followed and the
required information for any part transformations that occur
in each location. At this control level, the workstations or
measuring stations can be considered in the same way
because both of them represent locations that a part must
visit to complete its manufacturing sequence. Additionally,
even the sequence of actions carried out in each type of
station may be similar for both types, as summarized in
Table 3.

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Table 3 Summary of required actions on workstations or measuring
stations
Actions
Searching for the machining or measurement program
Set checking (tools, offsets, calibration parameters, tooling configuration)
Program loading in the station control unit
Part loading in the work/measure position from the station entrance
Fastening and security elements activation
Program execution
Fastening and security elements deactivation
Part unloading to the station exit

1. Workstation actions: Once the NC program and the

tools required for the operation have been identified,
the station control must check the tool availability and
its correct location in the tool holder. Next, the NC
program and the origin displacement values must be
inserted into the NCMT control unit. Under these conditions, the part is ready to be loaded on the NCMT for
the corresponding processing, coordinating of the loading device performance with the NCMT fastening elements and positioning and security tasks. Once the NC
program is executed, the part must be removed and placed
where it can continue its route through the system.
2. Measuring station actions: After the availability is confirmed, the part is prepared for mounting on the tooling
for the corresponding processing (measurement), coordinating the loading device performance with the stations fastening element and positioning and security
tasks. Once the measurement program is executed,
the part must be removed and placed where it can
continue its route through the system. Periodically, the
station must take the necessary actions to ensure the
correct performance of the measuring tools.

4 Application example: CFFETSIA

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completed with two control computers and several auxiliary

elements needed for automatic operation. Figure 4 shows a
general view of the system, and Fig. 5 shows a sketch of the
main representative elements.
The main control unit stores and manages a log file for
each part. This file contains the information regarding the
operation sequence followed. After execution of any operation, the main control unit decides and assigns the next
operation depending on the system stage. The information
managed from the process matrix includes the following:
the operation name, the NC program identification, the
location and origin, the required fixing tooling and tools
(including their compensations and placements in the tool
changer), the workstation load and unload sequences and
the execution time. The operation orders from the main
control unit are sent to both the SC7 robot and the auxiliary
control unit. The SC7 robot feeds both of the NC machine
tools by slicing on a linear base controlled from the SC7
control unit. The auxiliary control unit loads and saves the
NC programs into the NC machine tools and controls the
SC5 robot. This robot manages both the premanufactured
and manufactured parts, preparing them for the SC7 robot
and loading/unloading into part warehouses. The implemented measuring station will use the SC5 robot as the
load/unload unit.
4.2 Information associated with the measuring station
The measurement unit to be introduced consists of a manipulating robot to load/unload parts, an inductive sensor to
carry out the measurements, a device to decode the measurement signal from the sensor, a signal multiplexer to
allow simultaneous connection of several sensors and a
control station computer. This unit also contains a tool for
fastening and positioning of parts that will need to be
designed specifically for each part.
This information is included in the process matrix, in the
row corresponding to the measuring station and in the
column corresponding to the measuring operation. The information begins with the part identification and the series

Next, following the previously mentioned considerations,

the implementation of an automated measuring station in
an FMS system is described.
4.1 CFFETSIA main components
The CFFETSIA system is an FMS consisting of two workstations based on an NC milling machine and an NC lathe
[28]. This station also contains two manipulating robots and
a conveyor belt to carry out the automatic handling operations. Both robots are controlled by means of Automated
Control Language (ACL) [29] programs that are interpreted
and executed by each robots control unit. The system is

Fig. 4 CFFETSIA general view

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Fig. 5 CFFETSIA sketch

to which it belongs and continues with the information for

processes that must be carried out with the measuring tooling, the measuring instruments and the specifications for the
measurements, as related below.
4.2.1 Measurement tooling data
The main data item linked to the tooling is its identification.
Each tooling identifier must correspond exactly with a concrete piece of tooling and with a unique configuration if
there is more than one possibility with the same tooling. The
measurement tooling can be specific for each part or may be
more universal in nature if allowed by the typology of the
manufactured parts. In this case, although the measurement
tooling operates like a chuck or a jaw in a NC machine tool,
each measurement configuration must be considered in a
unique way for its identification.
The part loading and unloading procedures also must be
considered as associated data. This aspect is important because the tooling design must allow for the intervention of
the station loadunload devices to place a part correctly for
measurement. The CFFETSIA, at the stage shown in this
work, uses generic tooling for cylindrical parts whose geometry allows the entrance and exit of the robot grippers for
correct manipulation of the parts and standards to be measured, as shown in Fig. 6.

specification to be measured, on the available measuring

resources and on the planned procedure for executing the
measurement.
For the information associated with the measuring instruments, the following are required at minimum: the number
of measuring instruments, their most representative properties (e.g., their resolution and range) and their location in the
measurement tooling. In the CFFETSIA, an inductive sensor is used with a signal gathered in a decoder connected by
a serial port to the station control unit. The decoder is
connected to a multiplexer that allows up to eight inductive
sensors to be simultaneously connected. With this configuration, sufficient measuring possibilities are available for a
large number of dimensional specifications. The incorporated sensor has a 10-mm range and a 0.001-mm resolution.
4.2.3 Measurement specification data
Each specification establishes the number of measurements
to be carried out, the algorithm used to calculate the final
value of those measurements, the measuring units and the

4.2.2 Measuring instrument data

The measuring instruments used in a station can be of
different types. In any case, each of them will generate a
signal that, if properly treated, will be interpreted in the
station control unit. The number and typology of the measuring instruments to be used will depend on the

Fig. 6 Measuring station components

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Table 4 Measurement station control unit tasks

Table 5 Measurement program variables

Tasks

Variable

Meaning

Communication with the FMS main control.

Initialisation and check-up of the measurement equipment and stations
operation.
Verification of the agreement between the information associated with
the measured part and the actual configuration of the stations.
Load/unload control of the parts in the measuring station.
Measurement control according to the established procedure.
Registry of the performed actions and the obtained values.
Measuring instrument calibration according to the established
procedure.
Measurement results presentation (historical, statistical process
control, etc.)

Id_sp

Identification of the specification to be measured

(text with the associated name or code)
Measuring channel (instrument from which the
measurement will take place)
Weight associated to the current instrument reading
Order program or sequence followed by the station
load/unload unit
Adjusted measurement value

tolerance values associated with the specification. This information can be complemented with other data such as the
control limits if a Statistical Process Control or any other
relevant data are required.

Channel
Weight
Prg
Magnitude

control strategy with which it has been written. The main

steps of a general measurement sequence are represented in
Fig. 7.
To obtain the general approach, a measurement pseudocode can be written and later interpreted by the measuring
station software. The language for the pseudo-code does not
require many functions initially. In fact, only five variables
and four commands are enough to carry out any measuring
operation, as shown in Tables 5 and 6.

4.3 Measuring station control unit

4.4 Measurement program samples
The main tasks assigned to the station control unit are
displayed in Table 4. Although it is not required, it is
desirable that the station control unit is built on a programmable device such as a computer. This approach ensures that
the information related to the measuring operation can be
executed from a measurement program, similar to the
numerical control program in a machining station.
This measurement program is not written in a specific
language because this depends on the measuring instrumentation used and on the computer programming language
implemented, similar to the way in which a numerical
control program depends on the machine tool and on the

Next, for the purpose of demonstrating the potential of the

suggested pseudo-code, two measurement programs applied
to the CFFETSIA are shown in Tables 7 and 8. It is
assumed that the part is cylindrical, and the aim is to measure the diameter, the length or both magnitudes together.
4.4.1 Measurement example 1
As previously mentioned, the measuring instrument contains eight channels, and the load/unload unit consists of a
robot that operates by means of ACL programs. In this case,
two sensors are connected to channels 1 and 2 on the
multiplexer, and the measurement is carried out in two
positions, one for the part diameter and one for the part
length, as shown in Fig. 8.
Table 6 Measurement program commands
Command

Fig. 7 Measuring station sequence

Meaning

Selection[Channel] Measuring channel selection (usually, channel

points to the instrument from which the reading
will take place)
Reading[Weight]
Instrument reading adjusted with its weight and
accumulated in the variable magnitude
Action[Prg]
Station handling elements actions according to
the program Prg
Measuring[]
Registry of the value of the variable magnitude as
the measurement value; resets the value of
magnitude for subsequent measurements

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Table 7 Station measuring program 1

Command

Meaning

Name[Diameter]
Action [PrgACL01]
Selection[1]
Reading[1]
Measuring[]
Name[Length]
Selection [2]
Reading[1]

Specification identifier
Placement of the part to measure
Establish measuring channel 1
Reading with weight01
Magnitude value
Specification designation
Establish measuring channel 2
Reading with weight01

Measuring[]

Magnitude value
Fig. 8 Measurement example 1

Table 7 summarizes the steps of the measuring program

according to the commands and the variables from Tables 5
and 6. The part is placed on the tooling according to the prefixed measuring location. This operation is performed by
means of the ACL program execution called PrgACL01.
Once the part is placed, the diameter and length are sequentially measured using channels 1 and 2, respectively. It
should be noted that the Weight parameter of the Reading
command is 1 in both cases, due to only one measurement
performed in each case.
4.4.2 Measurement example 2
In this example, the part has three different measuring
positions, all intended for a diameter measurement. The
locations are established by the execution of three different
ACL programs, one for each location. The diameter measurement is obtained as a weighted average of the readings
taken from each of the three positions, with weights of 0.25
for locations A and C and a weight of 0.5 for location B. In
this case, only one sensor is needed. Figure 9 shows a sketch
of this case.
The measurement possibilities are unlimited using this procedure. The number and the sequence of the commands and
the variables depend on the measuring station configuration in

the same way as in a workstation with machine tools and

numerical control commands.

5 Conclusions
The inclusion of automated measuring stations in flexible
manufacturing systems is an interesting alternative frequently considered in process improvement. Although the NC
machine tools can also act as measuring instruments, their
measurement performances are limited. The use of measuring stations allows for a wider set of measuring operations
that are unavailable for NC machine tools and can enable
other developments such as the implementation of process
monitoring by means of a statistical process control. The
successful incorporation of an automated measuring station
in an FMS strongly depends on the previous system configuration, although this task can be accomplished without
substantial modifications to either the system or the control
logic. To achieve this goal, the present work suggests a
feasible methodology based on the establishment of an
analogy to the actions performed by the different stations

Table 8 Station measuring program 2

Command

Meaning

Name[Diameter]
Action[PrgACL01a]
Selection[1]
Reading[0.25]
Action[PrgACL01b]
Reading[0.5]
Action[PrgACL01c]
Reading[0.25]
Measuring[]

Specification identification
Places the part in measuring position A
Establishes measuring channel 1
Reading with weight01/4
Places the part in measuring position B
Reading with weight01/2
Places the part in measuring position C
Reading with weight01/4
Magnitude value

Fig. 9 Measurement example 2

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integrated in an FMS, mainly between the workstations and

the measuring stations. From the FMS control point of view,
this approach allows for the same treatment for both types of
station. The paper demonstrates the validity of the proposed
methodology in describing the successful implementation of
a measuring station carried out with an existing FMS. The
most relevant steps for this achievement are detailed and
practical examples of the measurement procedures are
presented.
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