The Use of a Factory Simulation to Evaluate a Flexible Control Structure for Integrated Manufacturing

<p>Once a control structure for an integrated manufacturing system is decided upon, manufacturing activities are limited by that structure. A flexible control structure is presented as an approach for accommodating a variety of manufacturing activities, without being limited to a single control structure. A flexible control structure is one that allows multiple types of control structure in the manufacturing process. For example, both hierarchical and non-hierarchical structures may be used in a flexible structure. The properties of a flexible control structure are discussed from the point of view of graph theory.</p> <p>Control structures for automated manufacturing are difficult to evaluate without actually setting up a pilot production system. Since this is often not possible for reasons of expense or equipment availability, it would be advantageous to be able to simulate alternative control structures for their various characteristics. In this research, flexible control is demonstrated with a factory simulation of an automated on-line/post-process inspection system. Factory simulations present special problems when used for evaluation purposes. An approach to using a factory simulation is developed, and alternative control structures are evaluated with respect to their fault tolerance characteristics. The results of this research indicate that flexible control may be cost effective when a large variety of manufacturing activities must be accommodated, but further research is needed to confirm precisely how wide a range and what types of activities would justify this approach.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering

Year dc:date.available

1993

Author dc:creator

• Pan, Ling Ling

Contributors dc:contributor

• Laurence D. Richards
• Derya A. Jacobs
• Billie M. Reed
• Larry W. Wilson

• Factory simulation
• Integrated manufacturing
• Flexible control structure
• Evaluation
• Applied Statistics
• Computer Sciences
• Industrial Engineering

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/emse_etds/167

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.odu.edu:emse_etds-1161