Simulation, animation, and shop-floor control

  • Authors:
  • Cynthia Erikson;Antonie Vandenberge;Trevor Miles

  • Affiliations:
  • Systems Modeling Corp., 248 Calder Way, Suite 300, State College, PA;Systems Modeling Corp., 248 Calder Way, Suite 300, State College, PA;Systems Modeling Corp., 248 Calder Way, Suite 300, State College, PA

  • Venue:
  • WSC '87 Proceedings of the 19th conference on Winter simulation
  • Year:
  • 1987

Quantified Score

Hi-index 0.00

Visualization

Abstract

It is often desirable to link shop-floor hardware directly to a discrete-event simulation model or graphical animation. Four situations in which this type of arrangement may be beneficial are identified here, and several mechanisms for implementation are discussed. A primary application involves testing the planned control logic for a specific manufacturing system. In this case, a simulation model, linked directly to one or more programmable controllers, provides the controller(s) with system scenarios under which they are expected to perform and produce a response. A second application is system emulation, where real-time data is used to drive an animation. In this way, a visual representation of system status is provided to monitor shop-floor activity. This may be especially useful in situations where the system is monitored from a remote or central control area. The ability to simulate ahead from current shop-floor status is the foundation for the final two applications that are considered here. Used for contingency control, the effects of alternate control strategies which may be imposed when some critical event occurs, e.g. machine breakdown or expedited orders, may be studied and evaluated. Finally, alternate production schedules may be simulated and compared when the initial schedule is prepared, or updated and resimulated as the shop-floor situation changes.