In: IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Vol. 23, No. 2. 1993.
Abstract: The modeling and analysis of a flexible manufacturing system (FMS) cell using Petri nets is presented. In order to illustrate how a Petri net with desirable properties can be constructed, the detailed synthesis process for this cell is described. During the process, top-down refinement, system decomposition, and modular composition ideas are used to achieve the hierarchy and preservation of important system properties. These properties include liveness, boundedness/safeness, and reversibility that guarantee the system to operate in a stable, deadlock-free, and cyclic manner. Furthermore, the analysis of a timed Petri net for cycle time is presented. The timed Petri net is first converted into an equivalent timed marked graph by a reduction technique. Then the standard procedure to find the cycle time for marked graphs is applied. The paper is of significance in the sense that it provides industrial engineers and academic reseaarchers a comprehensive real-life example of applying Petri net theory to modeling and analysis of FMS cells.