Two‐layer model of equipment fault propagation in manufacturing system

Abstract

AbstractEquipment fault is a major factor that affects the reliability of manufacturing systems. Fault source identification and propagation path search are primary means to reduce and eliminate equipment faults. To this end, this paper proposed a two‐layer model of equipment fault propagation in a manufacturing system. One layer, modeled by a small‐world network, is a network of parts for a single equipment device. The other, represented by the production relationships of the manufacturing process, is a network of equipment devices for a manufacturing system. Hence, the propagation path of an equipment fault is divided into physical propagation inside a single equipment device and flow propagation within the manufacturing process. The intensity of physical propagation is given by the product of the fault load and the propagation probability between fault nodes within a single equipment device, whereas the flow propagation intensity is equivalent to the yield loss of the manufacturing system due to equipment fault. Therefore, the total intensity of fault propagation in a manufacturing system is given by the product of these two intensities. Subsequently, the ant colony algorithm is used to find the propagation paths with the maximum intensity. Finally, the proposed method is verified using an example of a camshaft manufacturing system.