Document details

In the 4th Industrial Revolution era, automation processes operate in a more modular, flexible, and reconfigurable manner, leveraging decentralized decision-making and distributed control. As the backbone of this revolution lies the Cyber-physical Production System (CPPS) concept, which emphasizes the strong interlink and interdependence of the digital/cyber and physical components. It requires the use of a technology capable of incorporating intelligence through the entities in a decentralized manner. IEC-61499 Function Blocks technology stands out as a suitable approach to implementing distributed automation control systems. This work presents the development of a dynamic and on-the-fly reconfiguration conveyor transfer system based on the IEC-61499 standard, that automatically adapts its operation to face changes in the number and position of the conveyor modules. For this purpose, the developed control system considers a Python-based Function Block (FB) network using the DINASORE framework, capable of effectively communicating between system components and identifying changes in real time. The experimental tests showed promising results regarding the system’s ability to adapt to condition changes automatically and on the fly, as well as its scalability and robustness.