SPIDER - a Computer Aided Manufacturing Network

ABSTRACT

The Western Electric SPIDER System is a Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) Network controlling and supporting manufacturing processes at multiple locations. The hierarchical network interfaces with current Computer Aided Design (CAD) Systems within Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric to complete the CAD-CAM link for new electronic switching systems.^(1,2) new electronic switching systems. The project acronym, SPIDER, stands for Shared Production Interactive Data bases for Error Reduction (Figure 1).

This Computer Aided Manufacturing Net- work has been developed at the Northern Illinois Works of the Western Electric Company in Lisle, Illinois. This location is close to the Bell Telephone Laboratories Indian Hill Facility which has the design responsibility for switching systems. Northern Illinois Works was established to develop manufacturing facilities and methods for new technology switching products for the Bell System. As these new products pass through the development phase and demand increases the manufacture of the product line is transferred to traditional production plants. Currently, there are two other plants located in Dallas, Texas, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, which are part of the CAM Network (Figure 2). In addition to the manufacturing locations, two data centers are attached to the network. The Warrenville Data Center services the Western Electric Switching Equipment Division, and it is here where design information is initially received and processed by Western. It is the primary data source for SPIDER. The Kingsbridge Data Center supports time sharing applications for the corporation. Some of these programs require 24 hour availability. The link to the SPIDER Network is to provide system back-up for those applications.

Index Terms

• Applied computing

  • Arts and humanities

    • Architecture (buildings)

      • Computer-aided design

  • Operations research

    • Computer-aided manufacturing

  • Physical sciences and engineering

    • Engineering

      • Computer-aided design