A concurrent approach to design of reconfigurable machine tools to process bamboo

Today, manufacturing systems must compete in increasingly diverse and demanding markets. Customers demand quick response to their needs, and products have shorter life cycles than ever before. In response to this context, the next generation of machine tools should be reconfigurable and intelligent. Reconfigurability allows for the reduction of machine design lead time, machine set-up and ramp-up time. This paper shows the development of an approach to concurrent design of reconfigurable machine tools to process bamboo, based on a concurrent design reference model to Reconfigurable Machine Tool development. In response, a methodology for the development of this type of machine tools is outlined.