Physical modeling of material flows in cyber-physical production systems

摘要

Cyber-physical production systems that produce customized products usually show complex material flows. Furthermore - due to customization - work pieces that are transported within these production systems strongly vary in terms of their physical properties. In combination, this increases the probability of physically induced material flow disturbances, e.g. a work piece falling off a conveyor belt. In case of damaged work pieces or equipment, the occurrence of these events may result in increased delivery times and costs. However, traditional material flow simulations are unable to predict physically induced disturbances, since their discrete-event approach solely focuses on chronological aspects of the material flow.In consequence, this paper presents the development of a computer-based model to simulate physical aspects of material flows by using a physics engine. In the first step, the requirements for this simulation model are determined. This includes the identification and definition of physical phenomena that influence typical material flow processes. Furthermore, a suitable physics engine is selected, that matches the requirements and is able to simulate the relevant physical phenomena. Subsequently, required input data and parameters are defined. After the theoretical framework is developed, the model is implemented using the selected physics engine. Finally, the model is validated by using an exemplary material flow process. The validation determines if the simulation model is capable of simulating physical aspects in material flows with a suitable degree of reality.