Emplacement and blue print - Electronic module description supporting evolvable assembly systems design, deployment and execution

Abstract

The assembly systems need to react frequently on everyday changes like introduction of new products and variants, load variations, change of process modules, etc. In order to answer these challenges more effectively, quickly, automatically and with sustainability, new methods are required. The paper proposes as one basic part of the solution a concept called Emplacement to specify, manage and use the information of process equipment in modular, reconfigurable and agile systems like Evolvable Assembly Systems. First part of the paper presents shortly the framework where the proposed concept can be applied in the phases of systems design, deployment and execution. The essential is the link between the assembled product and equipment module through the processes combining the two former. The second and main part focuses on introduction of the Emplacement concept itself. The concept has three main components - Emplacement, Blue Print and History Container - providing the electronic description of a module in XML based format. The first two are standardised and they provide the virtual representation of the production modules including essential information like mechatronics interfaces, capabilities i.e. skills, properties (both business and technical), CAD models, datasheets, etc. The interconnection between and details of these languages are discussed in the following chapters. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010.