The records of the Engineering Research Center for Reconfigurable Machining Systems provide documentation of the program from its proposal stages through its operation as a major National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center.
The records are arranged into four series: Annual Reports, Topical Files, Publications, and Digital Materials. The Annual Reports are arranged chronologically and document by year the activities and progress of the Center between 1996 and 2007. The Publications series is comprised of published information by and about the Center, while the Topical Files contains documents arranged by topic, with special emphasis on program participants and the original budget and proposal submitted to NSF. The Digital Materials series contains content on the following topics: ERC/RMS patents, CIRP 2nd International Conference on Reconfigurable Manufacturing, and the Reconfigurable Factory Testbed operated by the Center.
In 1996, the University of Michigan College of Engineering received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create an NSF Engineering Research Center (ERC) for Reconfigurable Machining Systems (RMS). A Reconfigurable Manufacturing System is one designed at the outset for rapid change in its structure, as well as its hardware and software components, in order to accommodate rapid adjustments of production capacity and functionality. The University of Michigan ERC/RMS, one of 22 in the nation in 2006, worked to develop an evolving factory, containing an RMS, to be altered as needed.
The ERC's research is organized into three main clusters: System-Level Design, Machine/Control Design; and Calibration and Ramp Up. In addition, the Center is founded on five discipline-based research thrust areas: system design and integration, software architecture and information, measurement and controls, mechanical design, and processes and tooling. The Center also engages in educational and outreach programs aimed at K-12 and college students.
The Center's participants include approximately 25 faculty members, 10 research scientists, and 40 graduate and 40 undergraduate students from the College of Engineering and the School of Business Administration. Thirty industrial companies, including suppliers, control vendors and software companies, aided in the founding of the Center, have participated in its projects, and continue to support the Center. Payment of an annual fee allows them access to the intellectual property generated by the program's research.
Directors of the Engineering Research Center for Reconfigurable Machining Systems
| Date |
Event |
| 1996-2011 | Yoram Koren |
| 2011- | Jun Ni |
