Model-based configuration - a workpiece-centred approach

When dealing with the configuration of a production cell, usually the answer to the two questions is highly important: "Is it possible to still manufacture a product on a machine when the requirements change?" and "How can the production process be optimized in terms of layout/setup, configuration, parameters, sequence, ...?" As several industrial projects within the robot systems department showed, both of these questions are - among other things - answered by trial-and-error on the one hand and expertise and know-how of application engineers on the other hand. The latter task is also supported by simulation tools where even certain process parameters can be varied. But there is hardly any support on the software side easing this work in general. This paper shows an approach of considering the production process from a workpiece-centered view. Therefore, an ontology is employed for representing the required knowledge to derive the operations and their parameters automatically. This approach is demonstrated at Fraunhofer IPA's "Advanced Modular Microproduction System" (AMMS).