Physical simulation of a two-stage control algorithm for an FMS

A combination of a physical simulator of a two-stage Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) with a heuristic control algorithm is presented. There are three equivalent machines producing different products with variable speeds subject to disturbances which may delay the process. A single robot loads and unloads the machines. On the machine level, the control algorithm determines the machine's production speed and the next control point. On the system level, whenever it is detected that any machine will not be able to complete the production on time, an emergency is called and the remaining combined load of all the machines is redistributed among the machines so that the slowest one can get help from the others.