A framework to support semantic interoperability in product design and manufacture

It has been recognised that the ability to communicate the meaning of concepts and their intent within and across system boundaries, for supporting key decisions in product design and manufacture, is impaired by the semantic interoperability issues that are presently encountered. This work contributes to the field of semantic interoperability in product design and manufacture. An attribution is made to the understanding and application of relevant concepts coming from the computer science world, notably ontology-based approaches, to help resolve semantic interoperability problems. A novel ontological approach, identified as the Semantic Manufacturing Interoperability Framework (SMIF), has been proposed following an exploration of the important requirements to be satisfied. The framework, built on top of a Common Logic-based ontological formalism, consists of a manufacturing foundation to capture the semantics of core feature-based design and manufacture concepts, over which the specialisation of domain models can take place. Furthermore, the framework supports the mechanisms for allowing the reconciliation of semantics, thereby improving the knowledge sharing capability between heterogeneous domains that need to interoperate and have been based on the same manufacturing foundation. This work also analyses a number of test case scenarios, where the framework has been deployed for fostering knowledge representation and reconciliation of models involving products with standard hole features and their related machining process sequences. The test cases have shown that the Semantic Manufacturing Interoperability Framework (SMIF) provides effective support towards achieving semantic interoperability in product design and manufacture. Proposed extensions to the framework are additionally identified so as to provide a view on imminent future work.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

The configuration of design and manufacture knowledge models from a heavyweight ontological foundation

Problems related to knowledge sharing in design and manufacture, for supporting automated decision-making procedures, are associated with the inability to communicate the full meaning of concepts and their intent within and across system boundaries. To remedy these issues, it is important that the explicit structuring of semantics, i.e., meaning in computation form, is first performed and that these semantics become sharable across systems. This paper proposes an expressive (heavyweight) Common Logic-based ontological foundation as a basis for capturing the meaning of generic feature-oriented design and manufacture concepts. This ontological foundation serves as a semantic ground over which design and manufacture knowledge models can be configured in an integrity-driven way. The implications involved in the specification of the ontological foundation are discussed alongside the types of mechanisms that allow knowledge models to be configured. A test case scenario is then analysed in order to further support and verify the researched approach

Semantic reconciliation across design and manufacturing knowledge models: a logic-based approach

Ontology-based models of product design and manufacture are becoming increasingly important in the effort towards achieving interoperability among various stakeholders within and across product lifecycle systems. However, in the eventuality of having to interoperate between multiple ontology-based models, with the intention of sharing knowledge among them, the process still remains a difficult one. Although the concept of ontology mapping/matching has been developed as a means to interoperate across ontology-based models, yet the concept has remained relatively weak in terms of its ability to enable the formalization and verification of cross-model semantic correspondences in design and manufacture. In this paper, improved concepts to achieve semantic reconciliation are being investigated in the context of the Semantic Manufacturing Interoperability Framework (SMIF). The approach uses a Common Logic-based underpinning for enabling the evaluation and verification of cross-model correspondences. The approach has been successfully tested by applying the relevant logic-based mechanisms, in order to show the reconciliation of two individually developed knowledge models. Through this, it has been demonstrated that the approach enables semantic reconciliation of important structures within ontology-based models of design and manufacture. © 2011-IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved

Enabling interoperable manufacturing knowledge sharing in PLM

Traditional approaches to integrated information sharing fall far short of meeting the requirements for the seamless sharing of knowledge to support enterprise activities through the product lifecycle. Recent advances in ontological approaches to manufacturing knowledge organisation is showing promise that a step change in knowledge sharing capability can be achieved from the application of rigorous logic based languages, combined with methods for modelling context relationships. This paper discusses the issues involved in providing an interoperable manufacturing knowledge sharing environment and proposes a manufacturing foundation ontology as a key requirement for interoperable manufacturing knowledge sharing

Towards a formal manufacturing reference ontology

Due to the advancement in the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), manufacturing industry and its many domains employ a wide range of different ICT tools. To be competitive, industries need to communicate effectively within and across their many system domains. This communication is hindered by the diversity in the semantics of concepts and information structures of these different domain systems. Whilst international standards provide an effective route to information sharing within narrowly specified domains, they are themselves not interoperable across the wide range of application domains needed to support manufacturing industry due to the inconsistency of concept semantics. Formal ontologies have shown promise in removing interpretation problems by computationally capturing the semantics of concepts, ensuring their consistency and thus providing a verifiable and shared understanding across multiple domains. The research work reported in this paper contributes to the development of formal reference ontology for manufacturing, which is envisaged as a key component in future interoperable manufacturing systems. A set of core manufacturing concepts are identified and their semantics have been captured in formal logic based on exploiting and extending existing standards definitions, where possible combined with an industrial investigation of the concepts required. A successful experimental investigation has been conducted to verify the application of the ontology based on the interaction between concepts in the design and manufacturing domains of an aerospace component

Verification of knowledge shared across design and manufacture using a foundation ontology

Seamless computer-based knowledge sharing between departments of a manufacturing enterprise is useful in preventing unnecessary design revisions. A lack of interoperability between independently developed knowledge bases, however, is a major impediment in the development of a seamless knowledge sharing system. Interoperability, being an ability to overcome semantic and syntactic differences during computer-based knowledge sharing can be enhanced through the use of foundation ontologies. Foundation or core ontologies can be used to overcome differences existing in more specialized ontologies and to ensure a seamless sharing of knowledge. This is because these ontologies provide a common grounding for domain ontologies to be used by different functions or departments. This common bases can be used by mediation and knowledge verification systems to authenticate the meaning of knowledge understood across different domains. For this reason, this research proposes a knowledge verification framework for developing a system capable of verifying knowledge between those domain ontologies which are developed out of a common core or foundation ontology. This framework makes use of ontology logic to standardize the way concepts from a foundation and core-concepts ontology are used in domain ontologies and then by using the same principles the knowledge being shared is verified

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

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

A Manufacturing Core Concepts Ontology for Product Lifecycle Interoperability

Part 2: Full PapersInternational audienceThis paper proposes a manufacturing core concepts ontology (MCCO) aimed at providing support for product life cycle interoperability. The potential focus of the work is interoperability across the production and design domains of product lifecycle. A core set of manufacturing concepts and their key relationships are identified in MCCO. Semantics are captured formally through heavyweight logic using rigorous rules and axioms. Three different levels of specialization have been identified according to the degree of specialization required. Each level provides an immediate route to interoperability for the concepts specialized from that level. MCCO enable knowledge sharing across design and production domains through core concepts. A successful initial experimental implementation has been done to demonstrate the working of MCCO