Modeling and simulation of evolvable production systems using Simulink/SimEvents

High automation cost is one of the major challenges to cope up with the variance in customer demands, both in terms of product diversity and quantity. Evolvable Production Systems (EPS) is one of the approaches targeting this challenge. It provides features such as self-configuration and adaptability. Although a promising approach, there is still a need for further enhancements from methodological perspective for a wider industrial acceptance. This paper mainly aims at the exploration of tools and methods for similar concepts from other engineering domains as a step towards a well-defined methodology for EPS. In particular, SimEvents is evaluated as a tool for analyzing EPS from a control viewpoint. The main contribution of this paper is guidelines for modeling an EPS using Simulink/SimEvents. These guidelines in future, can serve as a basis for a methodology incorporating automated model generation and a platform for verification and validation of different algorithms related to EPS. The work is validated and demonstrated by a preliminary case study.