Design and evaluation of automated guided vehicle systems for flexible manufacturing systems: An extended timed Petri net-based approach

The design and evaluation of automated guided vehicle systems (AGVSs) for flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) is complex because of the randomness and number of variables involved. A Petri net-based methodology is proposed in this paper for modelling and simulating AGVSs for FMSs. To this end, the capabilities of time Petri nets are expanded. The proposed methodology is elucidated with an example. Several design and operational and control issues, including the number of vehicles required, buffer sizes, siding sizes and vehicle dispatching, are addressed. The effect of machine and AGV scheduling rules on system performance is also investigated.