Analysis of different types of navigational structures for machine tool controlling

Abstract

The rapid technological developments in the manufacturing industry and an increasing demand for more and more complex and individual products has led to the development of modern machine tools from simple tools to highly automated technical products. The trend towards cyber physical production systems will intensify this development in the machine tool sector in context with the so-called fourth industrial revolution. In particular, the increasing quantity of mechatronic components in machine tools has led to a high amount of different functions that need to be controlled by the user. Empirical research has shown that user oriented Human-Machine-Interface-design (HMI-design) reduces error rates and cognitive load for the machine operator and can lead to an increase in effectiveness and efficiency with regard to the interaction. In this paper we introduce a study which points out the impact of user centered design by analyzing the differences of workflow-oriented and function-oriented HMIs. The results of the study show that work task performance can be enhanced by workflow-oriented HMI by improving the time needed and diminishing the number of clicks and errors for specific work tasks.