This is the hard part of automation. Advances are taking place in each of the steps of automation. Integration of all the steps is currently impossible because the various types of machines are incompatible. One step in the advance of automation and the integration of steps is the creation of standards. Standards in the marketplace are determined by professional groups or the dominant player. IBM, the dominant player, set the standards for PCs. Standards have been established for CAD graphics. GM has devised a language called MAP so that all machines in manufacturing can talk to each other and this protocol has promoted the development of manufacturing communication standards. Standards ensure compatibility between equipment and small players adopt the standards to ensure a market for their products. Standards allow the small firm to specialize in a niche market knowing its equipment will be compatible with whatever equipment comes along.
Standards for CAD drawings have been adopted industrywide and now CAD is being integrated with FMS. In 1992 after a 5 year research program costing $3.5M a research group at a Dutch university created a startup to market their program which would create the software to run a FMS to create a part designed in CAD program. Their software can be updated and extended to accommodate different types of FMSs. The product is at least 10 times faster than a human planner.
Complete CIM must solve the data problem. A completely automated plant from design to final assembly requires a massive data base with all the designs, the programs to create the parts from the designs, the programs to route the parts to the assembly line, and the programs to assemble the final product. Moreover, this database must be integrated into the office database for sales, accounting and so on. In a completely automated factory, once the design is complete, a program would take that design and automatically create all the sets of instructions for all subsequent steps. The achievement of this goal is some indefinite time in the future. However, more and more the paperwork associated with manufacturing is shifting to electronics.