A generic Petri net model for dynamic process planning and sequence optimization

In this paper a Petri net based approach for dynamic process planning and sequencing is presented. By following the proposed method it is possible to: (1) represent manufacturing knowledge of the type of precedence relations constraints, (2) represent dynamically the process planning procedure itself, (3) produce and simulate all possible process-planning solutions (process plans) and (4) find alternative optimized solutions by applying simple manufacturing heuristics. The proposed method is based on the construction of an original dynamic Petri net model upon which reachability analysis is performed and a reachability tree is automatically created. Depth-first search algorithms are then applied upon the reachability tree and all possible paths (process plans) can be calculated. Manufacturing heuristics may help to reduce the volume of big original reachability trees and optimum alternative solutions may be calculated by applying optimization criteria.