Function blocks enabled dynamic set-up dispatching and execution monitoring

Abstract

With increased product diversification, business globalisation and service outsourcing, manufacturing processes are becoming complicated, especially in job shop operations. Companies must be able to profitably produce in small quantities and make frequent product changeovers to meet customers' needs so as to stay competitive in the global market. The dynamic job shop operations pose new challenges to manufacturing engineers in production planning and control. This paper presents an adaptive approach to dynamic set-up dispatching and execution monitoring by applying function block technology. A two-step decision making of machine-neutral set-up planning and machine-specific set-up merging is proposed in this research. The final set-ups are encapsulated in a set of basic function blocks that can make adaptive decisions at run time using embedded algorithms. The event-driven mechanism of function blocks is further extended for execution monitoring. It is expected that this approach can largely enhance the dynamism and adaptability of job shop operations.