ModCPN-an integrated set of tools for Petri nets-based modelling of manufacturing systems

As modern automated manufacturing systems undergo extremely fast renewal, the capability of the modelling software for designing, developing and operating them gets ever higher. This paper aims at surveying some factors of influence and their impact on using modelling as a tool for production processes control. The presentation is only concerned with the role of simulation-based approaches and of human factors. Authors´ contribution in the field is also discussed and special emphasis is put on their current activity, aimed at developing an integrated set of tools for discrete simulation ModCPN. A WINDOWS interface manages the above-mentioned system which supports the modelling, analysis of the static and dynamic properties of the model concerned, and simulation of discrete production systems. Pull-down menus determine the model global parameters, model editing, analysis and control strategies, and the conditions under which tools will be implemented. The mathematical basis of the system is a model description in terms of Petri nets: place/transition, coloured and temporal Petri nets