Rapid virtual prototyping and operational monitoring of PLC-based control system

Abstract

As business environments are rapidly changing, the manufacturing system must be reconfigured to adapt to various customer needs. In order to cope with this challenge, it is quintessential to test industrial control logic rapidly and easily in the design-time, and monitor operational behavior correctly in the run-time of automated manufacturing system. Proposed integrated model for virtual prototyping and operational monitoring of industrial control logic is to improve limitations of current ladder programming practices and general discrete event simulation method. Each plant layout model using HMI package and object-oriented control logic model is designed independently and is executed simultaneously in integrated manner to reflect design practices of automation system in the design time. Control logic is designed and executed using UML activity diagram without considering complicated control behavior to deal with current trend of reconfigurable manufacturing. After the physical installation, layout model of virtual prototype constructed in the design time is reused for operational monitoring of system behavior during run time with slight modifications.