| Currently the logic control design methodologies used in industrial logic design include ladder diagrams, function block diagrams, sequential function charts, and flow charts. At the same time, driven by a desire for verifiability, academics are developing additional logic control design methodologies, such as modular finite state machines and Petri nets. Using these, important properties of programs can be verified and some logic can be generated automatically from a part plan.; There are three main contributions of this work. First, a detailed description of the current logic generation process as observed in automotive manufacturing is presented, including a description of the steps currently required to generate logic, a description of the activities and objects used during the process, and thoughts about the future improvements that can be made.; The second main contribution is a novel method of measuring the size of existing logic represented in a variety of logic control design methodologies. This method provides a measure the size, modularity and interconnectedness of a piece of logic. In addition, a method for measuring the accessibility of data contained in the logic is provided.; The final contribution of this work is a method of comparing the process of generating logic using different logic control design methodologies very early in their development, before development environments are complete and extensive user testing can be performed.; The methods of measurement and comparison are demonstrated using four logic samples which perform similar functions on the same machine, written in four logic control design methodologies: ladder diagrams, Petri nets, signal interpreted Petri nets and modular finite state machines. |
