A product-driven reconfigurable control for shop floor systems

Abstract: The intensive deployment of Information Technology in manufacturing systems gives manufacturers an opportunity to promote make-to-order business models and mass customization of products. Facing this wide range of customer needs requires manufacturing control systems to be adaptable to variable demands in terms of product specifications or intrinsic system changes. To this end, the concept of product-driven control considers the product as pivotal to the automation rationale. This approach consists in providing the product with information, decision and communication capabilities in order to make it active in the scheduling and the execution of its manufacturing operations. This paper presents a formal reconfiguration framework for the development of a product-driven shop floor control system and its integration within the context of industrial automation. This approach is illustrated using a case study based on the flexible assembly cell of the AIP-PRIMECA Lorraine university workshop.