NETWORK DISTRIBUTED ENVIRONMENT FOR MACHINING OPERATIONS IN SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

AbstractSmall and medium enterprises (SME's) have similar characteristics in developing countries. They have facilities for their administration but limited resources in manufacturing technology. In an environment in which market dynamics and production patterns are changing, enterprises try to improve their performance related to the production velocity of manufactured items with reduced costs in their operations. Under this scenario, SMEs need low cost manufacturing automation in order to be able to compete. This paper describes an architecture that allows the integration of engineering applications on a network, with emphasis in machining functions. The proposed approach is based on the Internet Communications Engine (ICE) technology for machining applications integration.