A software engineering method for the design of discrete manufacturing cell control

The objective of this work has been to develop a cell control system which could be used in manufacturing cells, truly adapted to real industrial environment needs and suited for different physical cell configurations. The main goals achieved within the project have been the development of a user-oriented methodology and software tools, a reference architecture for cell control applications and a common language for the analysis, design, simulation and implementation of the cell control logic. The proposed methodology is characterized by modular, integrable, and distributed developments and is described in an Implementation Guide, which gives a complete project view and covers different issues related to cell control development projects, and also compiles and organizes the previous knowledge and experience existing in cell control. In order to validate, evaluate and prove the methodology, an industrial pilot application was developed using a Petri-net-based graphical tool. With the proposed approach most of the problems appearing in the software development for manufacturing control systems have been reduced, giving a complete project support, and covering all the development stages. The use of Petri nets also offers the possibility to deal with synchronous and concurrent events as it is required for manufacturing control systems.