Utilizing Edge Computing for Monitoring Plant Productivity in Print Industry

Automated monitoring of a whole production plant, equipped with a variety of different machines is a challenging task. Particular industries are introducing their own XML based schemas to ease the integration process. Print industry attempts to accomplish this with Job Description Format (JDF). However, a number of older print industry machines is rarely ready for such an integration. For integrating a real production plant, here is proposed a novel approach in utilizing a concept from Internet of Things (IoT) called edge computing, to enhance and integrate various printing and finishing equipment status in a unified manner. Edge computing assumes that a lot of processing is on a remote node and that the data is eventually aggregated to another location. For edge nodes small board computers (SBC) with wireless connectivity were used to collect data from machine sensors and store it locally. The data collected on the edge indicates status and operational speed over time of a machine and could be used for various analysis later. Edge node stores all data to a local database that could be accessed remotely or the node could be converted to a JDF compliant producer. The data from edges is then collected to establish a plant wide monitoring system that is a part of management information system. The concept presented here was successfully implemented in a real production environment. This work is licensed under a&nbsp;Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.</p

Analysis and evaluation of multi-agent systems for digital production planning and control

Industrial manufacturing companies have different IT control functions that can be represented with a so-called hierarchical automation pyramid. While these conventional software systems especially support the mass production with consistent demand, the future project “Industry 4.0” focuses on customer-oriented and adaptable production processes. In order to move from conventional production systems to a factory of the future, the control levels must be redistributed. With the help of cyber-physical production systems, an interoperable architecture must be, implemented which removes the hierarchical connection of the former control levels. The accompanied digitalisation of industrial companies makes the transition to modular production possible. At the same time, the requirements for production planning and control are increasing, which can be solved with approaches such as multi-agent systems (MASs). These software solutions are autonomous and intelligent objects with a distinct collaborative ability. There are different modelling methods, communication and interaction structures, as well as different development frameworks for these new systems. Since multi-agent systems have not yet been established as an industrial standard due to their high complexity, they are usually only tested in simulations. In this bachelor thesis, a detailed literature review on the topic of MASs in the field of production planning and control is presented. In addition, selected multi-agent approaches are evaluated and compared using specific classification criteria. In addition, the applicability of using these systems in digital and modular production is assessed