Project RAID (Reconfigurable Integrated Assembly Demonstrator) is a demonstration project currently being undertaken within the IMG group at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, Sheffield, UK. The project aims to demonstrate the benefits of various advanced manufacturing techniques in a complex assembly line environment. Developing and integrating technologies such as Smart Tools, MES, PLM, Collaborative Systems, Smart Fixturing, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Optical Projection, Digital Twin, Informatics, Part Tracking, Digital Work Instructions, Predictive Maintenance, Smart Kitting, and Remote Assistance and applying them to traditional manufacturing processes allows us to extract previously-untapped data related to both the process and product through its complete lifecycle from design and manufacture to operation and maintenance. By intelligently analyzing the data, we are able to convert this into useful information, thus allowing us to make proactive informed decisions regarding all aspects of the design, manufacture and operation of the product. As OPC-UA forms the backbone of the project's communication architecture, using OPCLabs' toolkit was an easy decision to make. Allowing QuickOPC to handle the heavy lifting resulted in reduced development time, reduced complexity and increased security.

Alex Godbehere MEng(Hons) MIET