Integration of structural and performance-oriented control in flexibly automated manufacturing

Advanced mechatronic systems increasingly are finding application in modern manufacturing, as high-tech production requirements dictate high levels of machine precision, automation and integration. A high-tech factory typically contains a variety of flexibly automated processing and material handling systems. Working together, these systems are capable of executing complex operations to produce sophisticated end products. At the same time, such systems must operate in a logically correct and efficient manner to help justify their capital cost. This requirement points to the importance of system-level control to coordinate shop floor equipment and activities. In the paper, we present a generic control architecture designed to promote logically correct and efficient system behavior. The architecture and its associated control logic are based on a discrete-event systems representation. We also briefly outline future plans to use the architecture as the basis for simulation-based prototyping.