A virtual manufacturing testbed

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology are developing a virtual manufacturing testbed. This testbed contains continuous simulation models of production equipment and processes, and discrete-event simulation models of various production systems. In addition, it contains both commercial and prototype software applications that implement a number of production management functions. The testbed provides an environment for the development and testing of interfaces that provide an integrating infrastructure for these applications. These interfaces are based on information models and exchange protocols that specify what information is shared across the applications and how it is exchanged. This paper gives an overview of the testbed, and summarizes two of the projects currently being conducted in the testbed.