A conceptual methodology for the planning of modular and scalable manufacturing cells in the context of Cyber-physical production systems

Customized production requires highly flexible and adaptable production systems, which can be enabled by Cyber-physical production systems (CPPS). For this purpose, it is necessary to implement appropriate manufacturing cells with certain capabilities into the CPPS network. The cells have to contain changeable characteristics to meet varying requirements along their lifecycle. The paper presents a novel and already validated methodology to enable the potential of CPPS by planning modular and scalable manufacturing cells. The developed methodology consists of a systematic procedure using models for the generation of alternative manufacturing cells, with a focus on customizable automation.