Automatic generation of PLC programs for control of flexible manufacturing cells

Shortened product life-cycles decrease the output rate of manufacturing systems. Offline verification of the control systems promises to increase the output. However, to make offline verification possible some major improvements of the current development process of manufacturing systems are needed. Information handling and development of control programs based on information reuse are the two most important improvement areas. This paper deals with one problem up the many connected to enabling offline verification. A general control program structure, adapted to information reuse and formal mathematical verification methods, is needed. This paper proposes a program structure that makes it possible to generate the PLC-program out of information that already exists in the development process of a manufacturing system. In order to further increase the ability of offline verification the proposed program structure is adapted to import information processed by formal mathematical methods.