Internship | Computing optimal production flows for flexible manufacturing systems

About this internship

This student assignment contributes to society by exploring how smart production systems can boost productivity. By optimizing production flows for our fischertechnik Training Factory demo platform, you will work on innovations central to Industry 4.0: model‑based engineering, intelligent scheduling, supervisory control synthesis, and automated optimization of production flows. These advancements help shape future flexible factories that can adapt to changing product demands while maintaining safety and performance.

Internship | Computing optimal production flows for flexible manufacturing systems

What will be your role?

In this assignment, you will work on modeling, analyzing, and optimizing production flows for the fischertechnik Training Factory. Using LSAT as your main tool, you will explore different production scenarios, identify bottlenecks, and experiment with optimization techniques such as supervisory controller synthesis and constraint programming. Your goal is to create an optimized production plan and run it on both the digital model and the physical setup.

This work is highly relevant for design‑space exploration because it allows you to investigate how different design decisions—such as routing options, resource allocation, or scheduling strategies—affect system performance. By comparing alternatives in a realistic but contained environment, you help uncover improvements and trade‑offs that can guide the development of next‑generation manufacturing platforms.

What we expect from you

We are looking for a student with programming experience. Preferrable you also have experience with state machine-based modeling or constraint programming. The assignment can be tailored to fit as a bachelor's or master's graduation assignment.

You are a good communicator, and have some affinity with domain-specific modeling.

What you'll get in return

You will, of course, be properly supervised during your work placement and be given the scope for you to get the best out of yourself. Furthermore, we provide:

• A highly professional, innovative internship environment, within a team of top experts.
• A suitable internship allowance (615 euro for wo-, hbo- and mbo-students, for a full-time internship).
• Possibility of eight hours of free leave per internship month (for a full-time internship).
• A free membership of Jong TNO, where you can meet other TNO professionals and join several activities, such as sports activities, (work-related) courses or the yearly ski-trip.
• Use of a laptop.
• An allowance for travel expenses in case you don’t receive an OV-card.

TNO as an employer

At TNO, we innovate for a healthier, safer and more sustainable life. And for a strong economy.