Identifying automation components in modular manufacturing systems: A method for modeling dependencies of manufacturing systems

Abstract

Modularization aims to improve the flexibility and reconfigurability of manufacturing systems. But the effort and complexity required for the coordination of modules increases with the distribution of intelligence. One of the challenges is the identification of subsystems or automation components in modular manufacturing system which is the focus of this paper. The complete identification of a component includes information on the communication channel, the localization of the component and the related process step. As no single identification method is able to gather all aspects of identification, the Manufacturing System Dependency Model (MaSDeM) is introduced which models the dependencies between distributed automation components. This model is based on three layers representing the different perspectives on the system of the involved persons in the development process of a manufacturing system. With the help of this model one single identification fact is sufficient to deduce all the information on the component. This helps to reduce engineering time involved in modular manufacturing systems.