Concept of a Reconfigurable CNC Machine with Distributed Control
The emergence of Industry 4.0 has changed manufacturing by integrating advanced digital technologies, enabling extensive real-time interconnection between information technologies and operational technologies within Industrial Control Systems. This ubiquitous information exchange enables manufacturing systems to operate flexibly and respond quickly to changing market demands and a growing diversity of products. The reconfiguration of manufacturing systems, both physical and functional, is driven by the Industrial Internet of Things, which employ Cyber-Physical Systems as its core enabling technology. This transition initiates a shift from centralized control systems, where a single central unit manages all control tasks, to a distributed control system architecture. Within a distributed control system, the main control task is achieved through the intensive cooperation of smart devices, such as sensors and actuators, equipped with computation and communication modules. In this work, we present a concept of a Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) system with distributed control, based on the cooperation of Low-Level Controllers, which execute local tasks while receiving primary control commands from a High-Level Controller. The proposed approach considers both functional and physical properties to ensure system reconfigurability and scalability.
