Fault-Tolerant and Maximally-Permissive FMS Controllers Right out of the Box

Abstract

This paper describes an all-in-one approach to automatic generation of high level coordination controllers for Flexible Manufacturing Systems. The approach comprises an intuitive WWW interface to specify the FMS layout and the desired production sequences. It also includes algorithms a) to generate a correct Petri Net Inodel for the specified plant, b) to set up minimally-restrictive collision and deadlock avoidance policies together with a proper supervisory controller to enforce these policies, and c) to react to disturbances like Inachine breakdowns. These algorithnls run in the design phase without user interaction. During online operation the operator only needs to indicate the arrival of new raw materials and the removal of finished products. An example demonstrates the efficiency of the proposed approach.