Software tools for the digital factory - An evaluation and discussion

Abstract

This paper presents an evaluation and discussion of the digital factory tools, based on various software applications. The aim is to map the software tools within the digital factory and evaluate them with regard to the digital factory theory. This work aims to compare research theory with the software tools that are available on the market and how they differ. It is important to know how the commercial state-of- The- Art software tools differ from the research theory of the digital factory, for further research development. A test case has been carried out to realize a mini digital factory based on commercial software. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010.