Control level simulation of an automatic storage and retrieval system in the automotive industry

Conventional simulators have focused on the abstract aspects of an automatic storage and retrieval system, which mainly deals with design verification, alternative comparison, and system diagnosis. Although such simulators can provide overall system visibility by monitoring how well the process works, the simulation models are not sufficiently realistic for detailed design and implementation purposes. To address this problem, we propose a method of control level simulation of an automatic storage and retrieval system in an automobile plant. The proposed method involves four major steps: (1) designing the process and layout for effective storage and retrieval; (2) abstract simulation of the automatic storage and retrieval system; (3) preparing the mechanical design to obtain three-dimensional kinematic models and the electrical design to produce a control program and a plant model; and (4) control level simulation of the automatic storage and retrieval system, including both manual mode and automode simulations via a human-machine interface. The major benefit of the proposed method is the reduction of the construction time and effort required to validate the programmable logic controller program of a real automatic storage and retrieval system, since potential errors can be detected and fixed before actual implementation.