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New and unprecedented changes in customer demands, globalization, cost pressures, innovative product development strategies to shorten product development time, and changing external landscape with reduction of trade barriers, poses challenges and opportunities for the manufacturing industry. Customer demands and needs require modification and reconfiguration of existing manufacturing and assembly plants as well as creation and setup of new ‘Greenfield’ facilities in developing countries. Currently, the solutions provided by most service providers focuses on limited elements of the solution methodology. We have developed an integrated methodology to perform virtual plant commissioning using digital manufacturing, design for six sigma and lean manufacturing principles.

This paper outlines open architecture PC (personal computer) based controls for automotive manufacturing environment. Generally a PC based control system utilizes DOS (or similar operating system) based computers (Industrially hardened AT or compatible computer), instead of a PLC (programmable logic controller), to operate machinery, and control program execution. It is based on an open architecture, allowing the ease of selecting any vendor platform, and allowing complete exchanges between platforms, without costly re-development and conversion down time. With factory floor networks and sensor buses, I/O operability has become very standardized. Information, and action can be fed backwards and forwards, to allow devices to react to messages in a simplified fashion. Reduced wiring costs, and high speed make such networks viable options for the manufacturing design groups. Automotive throughput has been seen to increase by two-folds with such innovative exercises.