8 research outputs found
Manufacturing knowledge sharing in PLM: a progression towards the use of heavy weight ontologies
The drive to maximize the potential benefits of decision support systems continues to increase as industry is continually driven by the competitive needs of operating in dynamic global environments. The more extensive information support tools which are becoming available in the PLM world appear to have great potential but require a substantial overhead in their configuration. However, sharing information and knowledge in cross-disciplinary teams and across system and company boundaries is not straightforward and there is a clear need for more effective frameworks for information and knowledge sharing if new product development processes are to have effective ICT support. This paper presents a view of the current status of manufacturing information sharing using light-weight ontologies and goes on to discuss the potential for heavyweight ontological engineering approaches such as the Process Specification Language (PSL). It explains why such languages are needed and how they provide an important step towards process knowledge sharing. Machining examples are used to illustrate how PSL provides a rigorous basis for process knowledge sharing and subsequently to illustrate the value of linking foundation and domain ontologies to provide a basis for multi-context knowledge sharing
Towards the ontology-based consolidation of production-centric standards
Production-centric
international
standards
are
intended
to
serve
as
an
important
route
towards
information
sharing
across
manufacturing
decision
support
systems.
As
a
consequence
of
textual-based
definitions
of
concepts
acknowledged
within
these
standards,
their
inability
to
fully
interoperate
becomes
an
issue
especially
since
a
multitude
of
standards
are
required
to
cover
the
needs
of
extensive
domains
such
as
manufacturing
industries.
To
help
reinforce
the
current
understanding
to
support
the
consolidation
of
production-centric
standards
for
improved
information
sharing,
this
article
explores
the
specification
of
well-defined
core
concepts
which
can
be
used
as
a
basis
for
capturing
tailored
semantic
definitions.
The
potentials
of
two
heavyweight
ontological
approaches,
notably
Common
Logic
(CL)
and
the
Web
Ontology
Language
(OWL)
as
candidates
for
the
task,
are
also
exposed.
An
important
finding
regarding
these
two
methods
is
that
while
an
OWL-based
approach
shows
capabilities
towards
applications
which
may
require
flexible
hierarchies
of
concepts,
a
CL-based
method
represents
a
favoured
contender
for
scoped
and
facts-driven
manufacturing
applications
A review of approaches to supply chain communications: from manufacturing to construction
With the increasing importance of computer-based communication technologies, communication networks are becoming crucial in supply chain management. Given the objectives of the supply chain: to have the right products in the right quantities, at the right place, at the right moment and at minimal cost, supply chain management is situated at the intersection of different professional sectors. This is particularly the case in construction, since building needs for its fabrication the incorporation of a number of industrial products. This paper provides a review of the main approaches to supply chain communications as used mainly in manufacturing industries. The paper analyses the extent to which these have been applied to construction. It also reviews the on-going developments and research activities in this domain
Standardised semantic models to support the configuration of global production networks
The configuration and deployment of global production networks, raises questions about the interchange of data and information between varied and different organisations, domains and systems. Standards should be an instrumental part of forming a basis to enable seamless interoperability, yet there is no clear support for global production networks. This paper sets out a reference ontology for global production networks being developed as a basis for interoperability between systems, with the potential for it to be developed as a standard
Extending product lifecycle management for manufacturing knowledge sharing
Product lifecycle management provides a framework for information sharing that promotes various types of decisionmaking
procedures. For product lifecycle management to advance towards knowledge-driven decision support, then this
demands more than simply exchanging information. There is, therefore, a need to formally capture best practice
through-life engineering knowledge that can be fed back across the product lifecycle. This article investigates the interoperable
manufacturing knowledge systems concept. Interoperable manufacturing knowledge systems use an expressive
ontological approach that drives the improved configuration of product lifecycle management systems for manufacturing
knowledge sharing. An ontology of relevant core product lifecycle concepts is identified from which viewpoint-specific
domains, such as design and manufacture, can be formalised. Essential ontology-based mechanisms are accommodated
to support the verification and sharing of manufacturing knowledge across domains. The work has been experimentally
assessed using an aerospace compressor disc design and manufacture example. While it has been demonstrated that the
approach supports the representation of disparate design and manufacture perspectives as well as manufacturing knowledge
feedback in a timely manner, areas for improvement have also been identified for future work
Information exchanges in a cross-disciplinary supply chain: formal strategy and application
A supply chain is often considered as a network of facilities and distribution options
provided by industrial companies. Many industrial organisations encounter interoperability
problems amongst their software systems, particularly when the organisations belong to different
industrial sectors, such as manufacturing and construction. Incompatibility amongst syntax and
semantics of the languages used is the most common cause of this problem. The Process
Specification Language (PSL), now ISO 18629 standard, has the potential to overcome some of
these difficulties by acting as a neutral communication language. The aim of this paper is to propose
a formal strategy facilitating those exchanges
Reference ontologies for manufacturing based ecosystems
There is a clear need for improved semantic communication to support information sharing across engineering groups and their systems in manufacturing industry. This work presents the progress towards the development of a reference ontology for a manufacturing eco-system, focusing particularly on the design and manufacture of aerospace parts. A case
study will be presented which illustrates how knowledge, captured from a manufacturing engineer's perspective, can be shared back into the product design process through the use of reference ontologies and appropriate mapping mechanisms
An exploration of foundation ontologies and verification methods for manufacturing knowledge sharing
This paper presents the current status of the Interoperable Manufacturing Knowledge Systems (IMKS) research project. It sets the work into the context of Model Driven Architectures, explores the value of a manufacturing foundation ontology in the context of the design and manufacture of machined components and illustrates potential routes to knowledge verification across domains. It argues for a foundation ontology combined with specialized domain ontologies as well as verification methods combined with query mechanisms. It goes on to illustrate how the level of effective knowledge sharing can be assessed across multiple product design and manufacturing domains