Methodical approach for the development of a platform for the configuration and operation of turnkey production systems

Abstract

Shorter product lifecycles lead not only to faster time-to-market for products but also to the need for just as fast available associated production systems. These shorter product lifecycles, as well as the increasing individualization of products, also result in further decreasing production lot sizes. Young companies in China in particular are characterized by a very high speed of innovation but may not have the necessary manufacturing knowledge or capacities to bring their developed products to the market with a scalable production. For this reason, there is a great need to quickly set up and commission turnkey production systems or to reconfigure existing production systems for new production tasks in the shortest possible time. This paper describes the design and architecture of a cloud platform with the aim to support a manufacturer independent design process for turnkey production systems. This process ranges from the product to be manufactured to the operation of the production system. Firstly, the structure and methodology used to link the various objectives are discussed. The system for recording and structuring product and production system data to create reusable modules from components and machines is described. Subsequently, the use of standardized modules is developed to support reconfiguration of the production system during operation. In addition, the digital business models tailored to the production system are proposed to the platform user for commissioning and operation of the plant. A case study is conducted to validate the proposed methodology.