Modelling of the effectiveness of integrating additive manufacturing technologies into Petri net-based manufacturing systems

Integrating Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies into manufacturing systems is regarded as a potential solution to improve the effectiveness of the production process flow in terms of the reduction of production costs, the involvement of human resources in the operation and the maximum use of materials. However, to date, the design of a model for the effectiveness of such integration is still an unresolved question. To find an answer to this question and help managers make decisions about AM technologies implementation, this paper applies Petri nets to the development of a formal model for the effectiveness of integrating AM technologies into manufacturing systems. The use of Petri nets in such context allows for modelling the correctness of the structure of the proposed production process improved by the AM technologies. The main novelty of the idea refers to the detailed description of the parameters of the production process integrating AM technologies. Moreover, new methods are proposed for boundedness and safeness verification of the Petri net-based manufacturing system (supported by an adequate algorithm, proposition, and proof). The presented model is illustrated through a real-life case study example of the production process with AM technology.