Machine Morphology in Reconfigurable Machine Tools

Machine morphology within the reconfigurable machine tool environment is considered in this article in a bid to address the configurations and reconfigurations that will be needed to meet the uncertain and unpredictable demands in the market. This paper proposes a hierarchical classification mechanism for machine structures, these structures derive from module combinations where symbology is utilized to represent the machines and these symbols can be used in the configuration process. Authors envisage this method to be relevant in the combinatorial problem reconfigurable environments face.