A rationalisation of
industrial automation
requirements and service
provision in Malta, with a
focus on the development
of new modular
reconfigurable industrial
automation systems
Funded by:
Start Date: 2007
End
Date: 2010
Budget: € 143,300
Principal Investigator
at the University of
Malta:
Prof.
Ing. Michael A. Saliba
Co-Investigator/s at the
University of Malta:
Dr Ing. Conrad Pace
Dr Ing. Martin M. Zammit
Mr Sandro Azzopardi
Ing. Dawn Zammit
Project Partners:
Project Summary:
In high added-value product
manufacture, where the trend
is towards high product
variety and relatively low
product quantities, there is
the need for versatility in
automation, potentially
through the use of
reconfigurable production
automation systems. Due to a
lack of appropriate
technologies and
methodologies, automation in
the Maltese manufacturing
industry is generally less
widespread and effective
than it could be, thereby
compromising the efficiency
and competitiveness of this
important sector. This
project aims to carry out a
critical investigation of
the current implementation
of industrial automation in
the local context, and to
identify problems that
exist, particularly in the
case of high added-value
product manufacture.
Solutions to identified
problems, with a focus on
new research along the
concept of reconfigurable
automation, will be
developed. Comprehensive
guidelines on the
implementation of effective
production automation
systems within the Maltese
environment will be defined.
A pilot version of a
versatile automation test
bed, to help in the
development and evaluation
of the guidelines, and which
is targeted towards use by
local industry for trying
out new automation
strategies, will be set up
and tested.
Results:
During the course of its
execution, the AUTOMATE
project has produced a
number of very important
research results with
direct practical
applications, applicable
to both the local and the
international community,
as well as a number of
physical assets that can
be utilized by both the
UOM itself (to train
students and engineers in
automation) and the local
manufacturing industry (to
develop solutions to their
manufacturing problems).
These results are
summarized as follows:
- The development of a
very clear picture of
the current use, and the
potential for use, of
production automation in
the local manufacturing
industry, as well as of
the problems,
perceptions, and
attitudes of the local
industry regarding
automation. The results
can also be extended to
communities outside
Malta if it is
considered as a case
study for the use of
automation in a small,
geographically isolated
economy.
- The development of a
new methodology to help
manufacturing companies
develop effective
production automation
solutions in a high
value added environment
in the presence of
product variety. Since
this type of environment
is common for Maltese
manufacturing companies,
this methodology is very
applicable to the local
industry.
- The development of a
new design paradigm for
a highly versatile,
physical manufacturing
automation test bed,
which is highly
reconfigurable to
provide a platform for
the development of
solutions for a wide
range of different
manufacturing sub
sectors.
- The development of an
actual physical pilot
version of the
manufacturing automation
test bed, based on this
design paradigm.
- The accumulation of
information on suppliers
of manufacturing
automation equipment and
other provisions, both
local and foreign.
- The establishment of a
large number of new
contacts for UOM within
the local manufacturing
industry, through the
surveys and through the
national workshop held
in April 2009. These
contacts will serve to
strengthen the link
between academia and
industry, and may form
the basis of a future
network of manufacturing
companies employing
automation, as well as a
pool of potential
clients for the
commercialization of the
project.
- The development of
extensive solutions to
actual manufacturing
problems stemming from
our three industrial
partners. All three
solutions have provided
useful and important
input that will help
increase the
competitiveness of our
partners within their
respective areas of
operation. These test
cases have also provided
important feedback to
the development of our
test bed.
- The development of
guidelines for more
effective use of
automation by the local
manufacturing industry,
based on many of the
results reported above.
- The development of a
detailed exploitation
plan for the project
results.
Publications:
M.
A. Saliba, S.
Azzopardi, C. Pace and
D. Zammit, “A
heuristic approach to
module synthesis in
the design of
reconfigurable
manufacturing
systems”,
International Journal
of Advanced
Manufacturing
Technology. Vol. 102
(2019),
4337-4359.
view
access
download
preprint
M.
A. Saliba, D. Zammit,
and S. Azzopardi,
"Towards practical,
high-level guidelines
to promote company
strategy for the use
of reconfigurable
manufacturing
automation", Robotics
and
Computer-Integrated
Manufacturing, 2016,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rcim.2016.12.002.
download
download
preprint
M. A. Saliba, D. Zammit
and S. Azzopardi, “A
study on the use of
advanced manufacturing
technologies by
manufacturing firms in a
small, geographically
isolated, developed
economy: the case of
Malta”, International
Journal of Advanced
Manufacturing
Technology, 2016, DOI:
10.1007/s00170-016-9294-9.
view
access
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preprint
M. A. Saliba, D. Zammit
and S. Azzopardi,
“Towards practical
guidelines to promote a
company strategy for
reconfigurable
manufacturing automation
systems”, 25th
International Conference
on Flexible Automation
and Intelligent
Manufacturing (FAIM
2015), Wolverhampton,
UK, June 2015, Vol II,
pp.
316-323.
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S. Azzopardi, M. A.
Saliba and D. Zammit,
“The Application of an
Intersectoral
Reconfigurable
Manufacturing Automation
Testbed to provide an
Automation Solution to
Industry”, Proceedings
of the 20th
International Conference
on Flexible Automation
and Intelligent
Manufacturing (FAIM
2010), San Francisco,
CA, July 2010, pp.
693-700.
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D. Zammit, S.
Azzopardi, M. A. Saliba
and M. M. Zammit,
“Perceptions and
Problems Related to the
Use of Manufacturing
Automation in a Small,
Geographically Isolated
Economy”, Proceedings of
the 19th I.Mech.E.
International Conference
on Flexible Automation
and Intelligent
Manufacturing (FAIM
2009), Teesside, UK,
July 2009, pp.
407-414.
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S. Azzopardi, M. A.
Saliba, D. Zammit and C.
Pace, “An Intersectoral
Reconfigurable
Manufacturing Automation
Testbed: Preliminary
Design Considerations”,
Proceedings of the ASME
/ IEEE International
Conference on
Reconfigurable
Mechanisms and Robots
(ReMAR 2009), London,
UK, June 2009, pp.
696-704.
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