Development of Flexible Manufacturing System using Virtual Manufacturing Paradigm

The importance of Virtual Manufacturing System is increasing in the area of developing new manufacturing processes, implementing automated workcells, designing plant facility layouts and workplace ergonomics. Virtual manufacturing system is a computer system that can generate the same information about manufacturing system structure, states, and behaviors as is observed in a real manufacturing. In this research, a virtual manufacturing system for flexible manufacturing cells (VFMC), (which is a useful tool for building Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM), has been developed using object-oriented paradigm, and implemented with software QUEST/IGRIP. Three object models used in the system are the product model, the facility model, and the process model. The concrete behaviors of a flexible manufacturing cell are re[presented by the task-oriented description diagram, TIC. An example simulation is executed to evaluate applicability of the developed models, and to prove the potential value of virtual manufacturing paradigm.