Reducing simulation model complexity by using an adjustable base model for path-based automated material handling systems - a case study in the semiconductor industry

Usually simulation studies of automated material handling systems of semiconductor fabs are extremely time consuming. This is due to the high detail of models used for investigations which are partly provided by transportation system suppliers. These models only provide poor possibilities for adjustment and are computationally expensive. The article will address these issues by proposing an adjustable supplier-independent base simulation model. It allows easy building, adjusting, and running simulation models of path-based systems without deeper programming knowledge. A use case of Infineon's Dresden fab revealed simulation results with an accuracy in the same range as the supplier models while disregarding a few details and thus showing significant time savings in modeling and adjusting the system as well as running simulation studies. This can be done by choosing an appropriate level of abstraction.