Ontology-Based Framework to Support Assembly System Rough Planning

The demands on assembly systems are continuously increasing. Beyond the necessity to assemble highly complex products cost-effectively and with high quality in ever shorter time frames, aspects such as sustainability and resilience are gaining more importance, further intensifying the challenges in planning and its support. This paper presents a new ontology-based framework that combines a planning methodology, an ontology, and modular solution components to address these challenges. A prototype support system, developed based on this framework, was validated through an industrial case study, demonstrating its effectiveness in facilitating the rough planning phase of assembly systems. The results show significant improvements in decision-making processes within assembly system planning.