EMBench: A Rapid Prototyping Environment for Numerical Control Systems

In this paper we describe an environment for performing both mechanical and control design for flexible automation systems. The environment provides a means of layering and encapsulating services so that complex multi-axis numerical control systems can be configured, detailed electromechanical simulations performed and then deployed. The system uses IEC-61499 as a means for modularization and reuse of implemented control services. Using IEC-61499 function blocks and a service-layer architecture, control services ranging for basic servoing of a joint, to kinematic co-ordination of joints of a mechanism, to trajectory interpolation, to language parsing and HMI processing, can be configured for an application. The environment facilitates a modular, component-based design of services for numerical control systems.