Event graph modeling of a heterogeneous job shop with inline cells

Abstract

In a flat panel display (FPD) production line, unlike a table-type machine that processes one glass at a time, an inline cell works simultaneously on several glasses unloaded from different cassettes in a serial manner and is divided into two types (uni-inline cell and bi-inline cell) according to the job loading and unloading behavior. In order to build a production simulator for this type of FPD production line, an object-oriented event graph modeling approach is proposed where the FPD production line is simplified into a job shop consisting of two types of inline cells, and the job shop is represented as an object-oriented event graph model. This type of job shop is referred to as a heterogeneous job shop. The resulting model is realized in a production simulator using an object-oriented event graph simulator and is illustrated with the experimental results from the production simulator.