Comprehensive approach to control of flexible manufacturing systems

In this paper we will introduce a comprehensive concept as well as the PC-based realization for the control of flexible manufacturing systems. The highly modular system called LUCAS2 allows, due to its flexibility and ease of use, the efficient production of very small batch sizes. The individual process steps, to be executed in automation devices, are freely programmable in process plans and communicated as process tasks via device drivers to the devices. All drivers and modules exchange messages with the kernel, that is responsible for multi-tasked interpretation of process plans and the internal real-time database, using a uniform communication protocol, which can be layered on top of standard protocols like TCP/IP enabling LUCAS2 to be run as a distributed system.