Modeling and Simulation of Flexible Manufacturing System using Petri-Nets

Flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) are advanced and highly integrated manufacturing systems consisting of robots, machining cells, and automated guided vehicles (AGVs) that function under the control of computers. The relations between its components are very complex. Problems related to flexible manufacturing technology are relatively complex compared to traditional manufacturing systems in which lead times are longer, inventory levels are higher, and utilization rates are lower. In order to take full advantage of the flexibility of the system, operation assignment, planning and scheduling should be done in a collective way. Petri nets (PNs) have recently emerged as a promising approach for measuring and analyzing the performance of FMSs. PNs are formal graphical modeling tool that can be utilized efficiently as a modeling tool. PN can also dynamically simulate and graphically represent a process in an integrated manner. This works proposes the development of simulation models for studying the behavior of complex FMS. A Petri Net based integrated approach, for simultaneously modeling simulation & scheduling of flexible manufacturing systems, is proposed. The procedure is illustrated with a case study.