Modeling and simulation of an electronic component manufacturingsystem using hybrid Petri nets

Modelling and analysis for the design and operation of manufacturing systems is a vital need. For semiconductor manufacturing systems, which are large scale systems, discrete Petri nets do not constitute an adequate tool for modeling and analysis. In fact, use of discrete Petri nets is confronted with tile state explosion and the high cost of simulation. In this paper, hybrid Petri nets are presented as powerful tools for modeling and simulation of semiconductor manufacturing systems. This model has been used for modeling and simulation of a real life electronic components manufacturing system. It provides an accurate and first simulation of this system     

Modeling, qualitative analysis, and performance evaluation of theetching area in an IC wafer fabrication system using Petri nets

Integrated circuit (IC) wafer fabrication systems can be characterized as discrete event systems. Petri nets are tools that have been successfully used to model and analyze such systems. This paper reports a project of applying Petri net methodologies to detailed modeling, qualitative analysis, and performance evaluation of the etching area in a real-world IC wafer fabrication system located in Taiwan's Hsinchu Science-Based Industrial Park, To tackle the problem of building a large and complex system model, a synthesis technique is used. The resultant extended net model is checked for important qualitative properties in manufacturing. A simple control policy for deadlock prevention is proposed. To obtain performance measures, simulation is used. The simulation result shows that except a small number of machines, the errors between the simulated and actual utilizations are less than 5%, The validated model can be used to answer many “what-if” questions, such as predicting the maximal throughput and bottleneck machines     

Comparing ladder logic diagrams and Petri nets for sequencecontroller design through a discrete manufacturing system

Design methods for sequence controllers play a very important role in advancing industrial automation. The increasing complexity and varying needs of modern discrete manufacturing systems have challenged the traditional design methods such as the use of ladder logic diagrams (LLDs) for programmable logic controllers. The methodologies based on research results in computer science have recently received growing attention by academic researchers and industrial engineers in order to design flexible, reusable, and maintainable control software. Particularly, Petri nets are emerging as a very important tool to provide an integrated solution for modeling, analysis, simulation, and control of industrial automated systems. This paper identifies certain criteria to compare LLDs and Petri nets in designing sequence controllers and responding to the changing control requirements. The comparison is performed through a practical system after introducing “real-time Petri nets” for discrete-event control purposes. The results reported in this paper will help: (a) further establish Petri net based techniques for discrete-event control of industrial automated systems; and (b) effectively convince industrial practitioners and researchers that it is worthy and timely to consider and promote the applications of Petri nets to their particular discrete-event control problems     

Petri nets and integrality relaxations: A view of continuous Petri net models

Petri nets are formalisms for the modeling of discrete event dynamic systems (DEDS). The integrality of the marking and of the transitions firing counters is a clear reflection of this. To reduce the computational complexity of the analysis or synthesis of Petri nets, two relaxations have been introduced at two different levels: (1) at net level, leading to continuous net systems; (2) at state equation level, which has allowed to obtain systems of linear inequalities, or linear programming problems. These relaxations are mainly related to the fractional firing of transitions, which implies the existence of non-integer markings. We give an overview of this emerging field. It is focused on the relationship between the properties of (discrete) PNs and the corresponding properties of their continuous approximation. Through the interleaving of qualitative and quantitative techniques, surprising results can be obtained from the analysis of these continuous systems. For these approximations to be "acceptable", it is necessary that large markings (populations) exist. It can also be seen, however, that not every populated net system can be continuized. In fact, there exist systems with "large" populations for which continuation does not make sense. The possibility of expressing nonlinear behaviors may lead to deterministic continuous differential systems with complex behaviors.     

Modeling and performance analysis of cluster tools using Petri nets

The performance of cluster tools is gaining ever-increasing importance as the semiconductor industry migrates to larger wafer sizes, and smaller device geometries. Customers demand higher throughput-to-footprint ratios for semiconductor equipment. Cluster tool throughput is the outcome of complex interactions of various subsystems, and there is a critical need for appropriate tools that aid in understanding these interactions, and their effects on throughput. Current methods for throughput analysis are not very well oriented toward understanding the dynamics in cluster tool processing. In this paper we present a procedure to model cluster tools using Petri nets. These models help designers to comprehend the flow of wafers during processing. While Petri nets have been used extensively in the modeling and analysis of diverse manufacturing processes/systems, this to the best of our knowledge is the first attempt to specifically model cluster tools. A state cycle analysis is discussed next; this method enables equipment designers to extract steady state throughput information, as well as understand the interplay of subsystems during the wafer Row. Two example configurations are used to illustrate Petri net-based model building and analysts. These two examples encompass a variety of design features found in the industry today, e.g., sequential and parallel processing, single and dual end effector robots, anticipatory and simple scheduling     

Modeling and Performance Evaluation of Inventory Systems Using Batch Deterministic and Stochastic Petri Nets

This paper presents our work on modeling and performance analysis of inventory systems using batch deterministic and stochastic Petri nets (BDSPNs). It addresses issues frequently raised by industrial companies, but did not receive enough attention by the Petri nets (PNs) community in spite of its important role in the study of discrete event systems. The BDSPN is a new class of PNs capable of describing the synchronization of discrete and batch token flows in discrete batch processes. Such processes appear in inventory systems or more general supply chains where materials are purchased in finite discrete quantities (batches of different sizes), and many operations such as inventory replenishment and customer order fulfillment are usually performed in a batch way because of the batch nature of customer orders and/or in order to take advantages of the economies of scale. In this paper, the BDSPN model is formally introduced, and its conflict resolutions of transitions and batch firing indexes are addressed. The model is then applied to the modeling and performance evaluation of various inventory systems. Analytic performance evaluation techniques are developed for the model with illustrative applications to the inventory systems. Our study shows that the model is powerful for both modeling and performance evaluation of the systems.     

面向集成电路制造的基于Petri网的生产调度

本文提出了一个新的面向集成电路(IC)制造的调度方法,核心内容包括两方面:首先,用本文提出的扩展定时Petri 网对IC生产工艺进行描述;其次,对所得Petri 网模型的状态空间进行搜索,得到以Transition序列表示的最优或近似最优调度.该方法可以很好地描述IC制造系统中存在的多制造路径、资源共享、可变晶片组及并发等特性,通过引入测试弧增强Petri 网的建模能力,进而在调度模型上对设备维护、设备优先级以及操作优先级进行描述,而且支持多目标的评价函数,使得到的调度结果更具实用价值.文中给出试验结果表明了算法的有效性.     

一种基于逻辑Petri网的过程挖掘方法

逻辑Petri网是抑制弧Petri网和高级Petri网的抽象和扩展,可在过程挖掘中简洁准确的表示活动之间复杂的业务逻辑关系.本文在传统Petri网挖掘方法的基础上,为了进一步提高复杂系统挖掘模型的简洁度和拟合度,尤其是对并行活动间存在复杂与或关系的系统,提出了一种基于逻辑Petri网的过程挖掘方法,并给出了逻辑Petri网中逻辑变迁的挖掘算法.它可以充分挖掘活动之间的业务逻辑,并且业务逻辑可用逻辑表达式表示.通过与相应Petri网模型的实例比较分析,例证了本文方法的正确性和有效性,且逻辑Petri网模型更加适合日志行为.     

Online multiobjective Pareto optimal dynamic scheduling of semiconductor back-end using conjunctive simulated scheduling

A discrete event simulation based "online near-real-time" dynamic multiobjective scheduling system has been conceptualized, designed, and developed to achieve Pareto optimal solutions in a complex manufacturing environment of semiconductor back-end. Our approach includes the use of linear weighted aggregation optimization approach for multiple objectives and auto simulation model generation for online simulation. Developed concepts are implemented at a semiconductor back-end site and are in use. The impact of the system includes a better customer delivery achievement, consistent cycle time with narrower distribution, improved machine utilization, reduction in the time that planners and manufacturing personnel spend on scheduling, and more predictable and repeatable manufacturing performance. In addition, it enables managers and senior planners to carry out "what now" analysis to make effective current decisions and "what if" analysis to plan for the future.     

Scheduling single-armed cluster tools with reentrant wafer flows

A cluster tool for semiconductor manufacturing consists of several single-wafer processing chambers and a wafer-handling robot in a closed environment. The use of cluster tools is extended to reentrant processes such as atomic layer deposition, where a wafer visits a processing chamber more than once. Such a reentrant wafer How complicates scheduling and control of the cluster tool and often causes deadlocks. We examine the scheduling problem for a single-armed cluster tool with various reentrant wafer flows. We develop a convenient method of modeling tool operational behavior with reentrant wafer flows using Petri nets. By examining the net model, we then develop a necessary and sufficient condition for preventing a deadlock. We also show that the cycle time for the asymmetric choice Petri net model for a reentrant wafer How can be easily computed by using the equivalent event graph model. From the results, we systematically develop a mixed integer programming model for determining the optimal tool operation sequence, schedule, and cycle time. We also extend a workload measure for cluster tools with reentrant wafer flows. Finally, we discuss how our results can be used for engineering a cluster tool. We compare two proposed strategies, sharing and dedicating, of operating the parallel processing chambers for identical process steps.     

Scheduling of semiconductor test facility via Petri nets and hybridheuristic search

This paper proposes and evaluates two Petri net-based hybrid heuristic search strategies and their applications to semiconductor test facility scheduling. To reduce the setup time, such as the time spent to bring the test facilities to the required temperatures, scheduling multiple lots for each job type together is desirable. Petri nets can concisely model multiple lot sizes for each job, the strict precedence constraints, multiple kinds of resources, concurrent activities and flexible routes. To cope with the complexities for multiple lots scheduling, this paper presents two Petri net-based hybrid heuristic search strategies. They combine the heuristic best-first strategy with the controlled back tracking strategy based on the execution of the Petri nets. The obtained scheduling results are compared and analyzed through a small-size test facility. The better algorithm is also applied to a more sizable facility containing types of resources with a total of 79 pieces and 30 jobs. The future work includes the real-time implementation of the proposed method and scheduling results in real industrial settings     

Modeling and Conflict Detection of Crude Oil Operations for Refinery Process Based on Controlled Colored Timed Petri Net

Recently, there has been a great interest in the modeling and analysis of process industry, and various models are proposed for different uses. It is meaningful to have a model to serve as an analytical aid tool in short-term scheduling for oil refinery process. However, in oil refinery process, there are special constraints and requirements, and the existing models cannot be applied directly. Thus, as an application in this paper, we extend the hybrid Petri net to model the crude-oil operations in oil refinery process. This Petri net is called controlled colored timed Petri net (CCTPN). In this model, a token carries both discrete and continuous properties. A token in a discrete place shows its discrete properties, while the continuous properties are captured when it is in a continuous place. A discrete transition treats a token just as a discrete one, and a continuous transition deals with it as a continuous one. In this way, we integrate the discrete and continuous processes together in the CCTPN. Based on the CCTPN, liveness for CCTPN is defined, and with the liveness definition we show how to detect conflicts in scheduling the system by using this model.     

Ladder diagram and Petri-net-based discrete-event control design methods

Ladder diagrams (LDs) for a programmable logic controller are a dominant method in discrete event control of industrial automated systems. Yet, the ever-increasing functionality and complexity of these systems have challenged the use of LDs to design their discrete-event controllers. Researchers are constantly pursuing integrated tools that eliminate the limitations of LDs. These tools are aimed not only for control but also system analysis, evaluation, and simulation. For the past several decades, Petri nets (PNs) have emerged as an important tool to provide an integrated solution for modeling, analysis, simulation, and control of industrial automated systems. Different types of PN-based controllers are proposed and intended to apply in the industry. There is a need for more benchmark studies of PN and LD methods in order to form a structured and integrated framework for logic control software development. This paper, for the first time, presents a comprehensive survey on the recent methods for discrete event control design.     

Modeling and analysis of message passing in distributedmanufacturing systems

This paper addresses the information flow between devices and programs in computer integrated manufacturing systems. Specifically, it presents modeling techniques and methods for detecting the existence of message paths among hardware and software components and the upper bound on time delays along that message path. The modeling technique can be used to analyze interoperability between hardware and software components in the system in initial design and specification. The modeling technique has three components: an object model to describe the message passing protocols between communicating components; a color timed Petri net to describe the dynamic behavior and state dependency within each individual component; and an object synthesis method that integrates the Petri nets of individual objects and message protocols between objects to describe the dynamics of the entire system. The graphical modeling can enhance communication among different groups involved in system design and the analytical method can provide component specifications. The use of the modeling technique and method in early system design can result in time and cost savings in system integration due to better communication, better component selection and early problem identification     

Differential Petri net models for industrial automation and supervisory control

Supervisory control systems play a central role in modern industrial automation. However, control theory has recently made significant advances in modeling mixed continuous/discrete event systems ("hybrid control systems"), whose typical instantiations include the industrial supervisory controller. This article shows how differential Petri nets, a model for hybrid control systems, can be used to represent industrial supervisory systems in a unified way. Typical industrial automation tests can be modeled, whereas the effect of communication protocols and software can be straightforwardly included using conventional Petri nets. Therefore, a global model for the operation of an industrial control system can be formed and its behavior analyzed.     

Integrating simulation and optimization of manufacturing systems

This paper presents the ongoing development of a modeling methodology and a tool (the so-called simulation integrated system with modeling and optimization (SISMO) solver) that permits manufacturing systems to be both simulated and optimized according to several improvement strategies. We point out that the different steps of modeling, simulating, and optimizing uses the same integrated formalism and environment. A major point of this methodology and tool is the original decision-making mechanism over a hierarchy of complex discrete systems that model the real world. For the SISMO platform to be validated, we applied it to an actual highly constrained discrete-continuous scheduling problem. This study on a real-life problem has systematically led to improvements.     

Use of Petri nets for resource allocation in projects

Traditional models for project management have not adequately incorporated a number of factors that are important for resource allocation. This paper describes the use of Petri nets to facilitate resource allocation in projects under some conditions commonly encountered in practice. Petri nets provide a powerful formalism for representing and analyzing concurrent systems. To date, however, very little has been done to integrate this graphical and mathematical tool with the area of project management. Petri net models can be used to analyze interdependencies, criticality, substitution, conflicting resource priorities and variations in the availability of resources. This paper proposes a new model and demonstrates the usefulness of the model for real-time activity scheduling in a resource-constrained project environment. The model has been computerized using the C language, and a simple project is chosen as an example to provide step-by-step explanations of the simulation carried out. This paper also discusses the implications of the model and the analysis it supports     

Modeling a die bonder with Petri nets: a case study

The process of designing complex manufacturing machines involves problems of interdisciplinary communication, design space exploration as well as design evaluation and analysis that can best be solved by integrating modeling and simulation stages into the development process. Requirements necessary for a modeling environment are: support for hierarchical and modular structuring, module reuse, configurability of the model, executability of the model with a notion of time, and intuitive usability. The CodeSign object-oriented, temporal Petri net formalism with its associated tool is a modeling and simulation environment to meet those requirements. A case study conducted in an industrial setting is described that demonstrates the applicability of the CodeSign approach to the modeling of semiconductor manufacturing equipment with step-wise refinement. Results are given to show the accuracy of simulation results with respect to data actually measured on the machine. The CodeSign simulation results are shown to have superior accuracy compared to the output of a previous spreadsheet model of the same machine