Design, modelling, simulation and integration of cyber physical systems: Methods and applications

The main drivers for the development and evolution of Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) are the reduction of development costs and time along with the enhancement of the designed products. The aim of this survey paper is to provide an overview of different types of system and the associated transition process from mechatronics to CPS and cloud-based (IoT) systems. It will further consider the requirement that methodologies for CPS-design should be part of a multi-disciplinary development process within which designers should focus not only on the separate physical and computational components, but also on their integration and interaction. Challenges related to CPS-design are therefore considered in the paper from the perspectives of the physical processes, computation and integration respectively. Illustrative case studies are selected from different system levels starting with the description of the overlaying concept of Cyber Physical Production Systems (CPPSs). The analysis and evaluation of the specific properties of a sub-system using a condition monitoring system, important for the maintenance purposes, is then given for a wind turbine

Usage of a mechatronics software for efficient machine development

Industrial machine manufactures face an increasing demand to deliver new high-quality products in a short time and at a reasonable price. Customers expect to receive machines that are productive, robust and flexible enough to adapt to their needs. Meeting these requirements while developing new technologies is a great business challenge. The development process is complex and with high degrees of uncertainty. Thus, the industry needs new development methods and tools that help them deal with complexity, be more efficient, and reduce costs. These tools are software that emulates physical systems into virtual models. By using them, engineers can verify machine concepts, integrate designs or validate control programs to make informed decisions before any hardware is built. In this context, this project shows a case study where a system is developed using a modelbased approach. The system is a prototype meant to automatically pick 3D printed parts and place them in a packaging box. The machine model is developed to validate and optimize the pick and place algorithms before testing them in the physical equipment. The final simulation can understand the position, speed and acceleration values introduced by the user and provide a correct 3D visualization of the machine movement. The model includes the physical properties and kinematics of all the moving machine components, the behaviour of the motor drives and the data exchange between the controller and the peripheries. The simulation is governed by the same control program that is executed in the real machine. The virtual model is validated by a 3D visualization of the machine motion as well as an analysis of the motion graphs of several movement sequences. The project also includes an analysis of the costs and the environmental impact of this work. This thesis also analyses the advantages and implications of using a virtual model to develop a machine. This is done through a literature review and observations made during the development of the case study

An approach to open virtual commissioning for component-based automation

Increasing market demands for highly customised products with shorter time-to-market and at lower prices are forcing manufacturing systems to be built and operated in a more efficient ways. In order to overcome some of the limitations in traditional methods of automation system engineering, this thesis focuses on the creation of a new approach to Virtual Commissioning (VC). In current VC approaches, virtual models are driven by pre-programmed PLC control software. These approaches are still time-consuming and heavily control expertise-reliant as the required programming and debugging activities are mainly performed by control engineers. Another current limitation is that virtual models validated during VC are difficult to reuse due to a lack of tool-independent data models. Therefore, in order to maximise the potential of VC, there is a need for new VC approaches and tools to address these limitations. The main contributions of this research are: (1) to develop a new approach and the related engineering tool functionality for directly deploying PLC control software based on component-based VC models and reusable components; and (2) to build tool-independent common data models for describing component-based virtual automation systems in order to enable data reusability. [Continues.

Visokoučinski modeli i simulacije – konstrukcijska osnova mehatroničkih sustava

The paper describes the efficient techniques for assembly of multidisciplinary simulation models and then the efficient techniques for their simulation. The current methods of assembly of multidisciplinary simulation models are co-simulation using existing simulation packages for one physical domain and uniform modelling by uniform language. The efficiency of simulation can be achieved besides advanced mathematical methods by parallelization, modification of the problem being solved and surprisingly by solving boundary mapping instead of mapping of variable time behavior.U ovom radu opisane su učinkovite tehnike objedinjavanja multidisciplinarnih simulacijskih modela I njihove simulacije. Trenutno korištene metode objedinjavanja simulacijskih modela su kosimulacija (kooperativna simulacija) na osnovi postojećih simulacijskih paketa za respektivna fizikalna područja, te uniformno modeliranje standardnim jezikom. Osim korištenja naprednih matematičkih metoda, učinkovitost simulacije postiže se paralelnim pristupom, modifikacijom promatranog problema i – iznenađujuće – rješavanjem prikaza graničnog područja umjesto prikaza ponašanja u varijablinom vremenu

Safe-guarded multi-agent control for mechatronic systems: implementation framework and design patterns

This thesis addresses two issues: (i) developing an implementation framework for Multi-Agent Control Systems (MACS); and (ii) developing a pattern-based safe-guarded MACS design method.\ud \ud The Multi-Agent Controller Implementation Framework (MACIF), developed by Van Breemen (2001), is selected as the starting point because of its capability to produce MACS for solving complex control problems with two useful features:\ud • MACS is hierarchically structured in terms of a coordinated group of elementary and/or composite controller-agents;\ud • MACS has an open architecture such that controller-agents can be added, modified or removed without redesigning and/or reprogramming the remaining part of the MACS

Modelling as Research Methodology

Modelling as Research Methodology is written for the scientist and student researching the (expected) functioning of systems under specified conditions. As such, it represents an introduction to the use of modelling in natural, human and economical sciences. The book is divided into two sections. The first section illustrates the universal nature of modelling as aid to the researcher. In the second section, several typical examples of modelling are described

Production Engineering and Management

The annual International Conference on Production Engineering and Management takes place for the sixth time his year, and can therefore be considered a well - established event that is the result of the joint effort of the OWL University of Applied Sciences and the University of Trieste. The conference has been established as an annual meeting under the Double Degree Master Program ‘Production Engineering and Management’ by the two partner universities. The main goal of the conference is to provide an opportunity for students, researchers and professionals from Germany, Italy and abroad, to meet and exchange information, discuss experiences, specific practices and technical solutions used in planning, design and management of production and service systems. In addition, the conference is a platform aimed at presenting research projects, introducing young academics to the tradition of Symposiums and promoting the exchange of ideas between the industry and the academy. Especially the contributions of successful graduates of the Double Degree Master Program ‘Production Engineering and Management’ and those of other postgraduate researchers from several European countries have been enforced. This year’s special focus is on Direct Digital Manufacturing in the context of Industry 4.0, a topic of great interest for the global industry. The concept is spreading, but the actual solutions must be presented in order to highlight the practical benefits to industry and customers. Indeed, as Henning Banthien, Secretary General of the German ‘Plattform Industrie 4.0’ project office, has recently remarked, “Industry 4.0 requires a close alliance amongst the private sector, academia, politics and trade unions” in order to be “translated into practice and be implemented now”. PEM 2016 takes place between September 29 and 30, 2016 at the OWL University of Applied Sciences in Lemgo. The program is defined by the Organizing and Scientific Committees and clustered into scientific sessions covering topics of main interest and importance to the participants of the conference. The scientific sessions deal with technical and engineering issues, as well as management topics, and include contributions by researchers from academia and industry. The extended abstracts and full papers of the contributions underwent a double - blind review process. The 24 accepted presentations are assigned, according to their subject, to one of the following sessions: ‘Direct Digital Manufacturing in the Context of Industry 4.0’, ‘Industrial Engineering and Lean Management’, ‘Management Techniques and Methodologies’, ‘Wood Processing Technologies and Furniture Production’ and ‘Innovation Techniques and Methodologies