Manufacturing Systems Overview

Principles

Definition

Manufacturing systems is an academic field and engineering discipline focused on the design, analysis, operation, and management of integrated production processes. It investigates the complex interplay of resources, including equipment, labor, materials, and information, to optimize efficiency, quality, and responsiveness in the creation of physical goods.

Ontological type

Modeling and Analysis Methods

Performance Metrics and Optimization

Production Planning and Control

Key developments

Key Figures

Formal Methods for Flexibility era

W. David Kelton [1] is associated with the University of Wisconsin–Madison [3] and the University of Minnesota [4] during this era. His key contribution, as reflected in the 1983 paper Simulation Modeling and Analysis [7], provided systematic simulation modeling and analysis methods for manufacturing systems that facilitated evaluation of throughput, cycle time, and adaptability, thereby guiding design decisions under uncertainty in this era. Averill M. Law [2] is associated with the University of Arizona [5] and the University of Leeds [6] during this era. In this era, his contributions to simulation modeling and analysis, as illustrated by the 1983 paper Simulation Modeling and Analysis [7], helped establish quantitative methods for assessing throughput, cycle time, and adaptability in manufacturing systems, enabling model-driven flexibility under uncertainty.

Petri-Net Distributed Control era

MengChu Zhou[1], affiliated with University of Maryland, College Park[3] and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute[4], contributed to Petri-net–driven deadlock prevention in flexible manufacturing systems during the 2000–2013 era. His key contributions include Elementary siphons of Petri nets and their application to deadlock prevention in flexible manufacturing systems[7], Deadlock control methods in automated manufacturing systems[8], and An Iterative Synthesis Approach to Petri Net-Based Deadlock Prevention Policy for Flexible Manufacturing Systems[9], collectively advancing deadlock prevention and liveness enforcement in flexible manufacturing. Zhiwu Li[2], affiliated with University of Toronto[5] and University of Delaware[6], contributed to liveness-enforcing Petri net supervision and siphon-based deadlock prevention in this era. His notable papers include Elementary siphons of Petri nets and their application to deadlock prevention in flexible manufacturing systems[7], Design of a Maximally Permissive Liveness-Enforcing Petri Net Supervisor for Flexible Manufacturing Systems[10], and A Maximally Permissive Deadlock Prevention Policy for FMS Based on Petri Net Siphon Control and the Theory of Regions[11], which collectively advanced reconfigurable, deadlock-free control and real-time coordination.

Cyber‑Physical Industry 4.0 era

Jay Lee [1] is a leading figure in CPS for the Industry 4.0 era, with affiliations at Stanford University [3] and Johns Hopkins University [4]. His key contributions include the Cyber-Physical Systems architecture for Industry 4.0-based manufacturing systems [6], and the work Cyber-physical Production Systems: Roots, Expectations and R&D Challenges [8], as well as insights from Cyber-physical systems in manufacturing [7], which collectively framed real-time sensing, IoT connectivity, and platform-enabled reconfigurability essential to the era. László Monostori [2] is a prominent researcher at Budapest University of Technology and Economics [5] during this era. His key contributions, as reflected in Cyber-physical Production Systems: Roots, Expectations and R&D Challenges [8] and Cyber-physical systems in manufacturing [7], helped establish CPS as a paradigm for integrated manufacturing, promoting systemic modeling, interoperability, and research into flexible, reconfigurable production networks.