General Emulator Architecture in Modular Plant Architecture Environment

The designer of manufacturing systems requires tools for configuration and reconfiguration for the physical layout as well as the logic controller. This paper is meant to present the work done in order to develop a standardized emulation system, intended to work with every kind of controller logic, used to handle a network of service centres M/D/x/n1. The network and the service centre topology are described through a virtual reality tool developed within the project (used to naturally describe the factory layout), then translated with object oriented methodology and stored in the form of XML2 text in an object oriented database. The system then emulates the factory layout described, providing feedbacks that will help the user to gain a deeper knowledge on his factory functionalities, helping him to make the proper arrangements and reconfiguration. This emulation system is meant to be general purpose, unchained from the controller logic, from the hardware platform and from the language used to specify the service centres. The XML document describes the environment layout, in respect of the specific XSLT3 used to standardize every layout element. As mentioned, the emulator is intended to work with every controller logic: the emulator has been developed with a wrapping system meant to provide a set of communication functions with the exterior. Three main typology of Service Centres have been identified: Processing Centres, Transporting Centres, and Storing Centres. The behavior of each service centre is coded through the theoretical definition of a deterministic finite states automaton, intended to manage the state transition caused by the execution of a command. The emulator handles each Service Centre though the associated automaton.