An object-oriented prototyping tool for automated manufacturing systems

Abstract

System prototyping is essential in the development of automated manufacturing systems (AMSs), and the value of prototyping depends largely on the effectiveness of the prototyping tool to represent a system design and also the prototyping results. This paper presents a windows-based prototyping tool that adopts a frame-based representation approach to build a prototype from an object-oriented system design specification. The tool provides a platform capable of executing the prototype under different constraints and operating conditions, and of presenting the prototyping results to facilitate the study of the behaviour of the AMS. Properties, such as the total cycle time, resource utilization, potential conflicts, errors in design, and abnormal behaviours, can be readily derived. The tool's effectiveness is illustrated by prototyping a flexible manufacturing system, and examining the results obtained. Indeed, the prototyping tool proposed in this paper is shown to provide a convenient means for the design of AMSs.