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 ontologies. Ontologies in computer science terms are hierarchical structures of knowledge stored in a computer-based knowledge base. Ontologies have been accepted by all as an interoperable medium to provide a non-subjective way of storing and sharing knowledge across diverse domains. Some semantic and syntactic differences, however, still crop up when these ontological knowledge bases are developed independently. A case study in an aerospace components manufacturing company suggests that shape features of a component are perceived differently by the designing and manufacturing departments. These differences cause further misunderstanding and misinterpretation when computer-based knowledge sharing systems are used across the two domains. Foundation or core ontologies can be used to overcome these differences and to ensure a seamless sharing of knowledge. This is because these ontologies provide a common grounding for domain ontologies to be used by individual domains or department. This common grounding can be used by the 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. The Knowledge Frame Language which is based on Common Logic is used for formalizing example ontologies. The ontology editor used for browsing and querying ontologies is the Integrated Ontology Development Environment (IODE) by Highfleet Inc. An ontological product modelling technique is also developed in this research, to test the proposed framework in the scenario of manufacturability analysis. The proposed framework is then validated through a Java API specially developed for this purpose. Real industrial examples experienced during the case study are used for validation

Manufacturability verification through feature-based ontological product models

To achieve efficient, fast and cost effective production, designers must consider all the manufacturing stages a product has to go through. A case study in a manufacturing setup shows that owing to the differences in perception of an engineering component, the coordination between design and manufacturing becomes difficult. Semantic interoperability problems are therefore faced when knowledge sharing for the purpose of manufacturability verification is attempted through computer-based knowledge bases. Ontologies have a reputation for solving semantic interoperability problems. Combined with shape feature-based models of components, ontologies provide a basis for seamless knowledge sharing. This article demonstrates the use of ontologies for analyzing the manufacturability of engineering components in the early design stages. This is done by developing shape feature-based ontological models of these components and associating manufacturability knowledge with these models. To achieve this, an ontological modelling technique is proposed that uses shape feature-based geometrical models of engineering components as building blocks. The knowledge associated with these models to demonstrate their use for manufacturability verification is derived from the findings of a case study also detailed in this article. © IMechE 2012

Gap analysis of ontology mapping tools and techniques

Mapping between ontologies provides a way to overcome any dissimilarities in the terminologies used in two ontologies. Some tools and techniques to map ontologies are available with some semi-automatic mapping capabilities. These tools are employed to join the similar concepts in two ontologies and overcome the possible mismatches.Several types of mismatches have been identified by researchers and certain overlaps can easily be seen in their description. Analysis of the mapping tools and techniques through a mismatches framework reveals that most of the tools and techniques just target the explication side of the concepts in ontologies and a very few of them opt for the conceptualization mismatches. Research therefore needs to be done in the area of detecting and overcoming conceptualization mismatches that may occur during the process of mapping. The automation and reliability of these tools are important because they directly affect the interoperatbility between different knowledge sources

Mediation of foundation ontology based knowledge sources

Ontologies are helpful in giving interoperable structures to sources of knowledge and information. This interoperability, however, is greatly hindered by the heterogeneity of independently developed ontologies which in turn increases the requirements for mediation systems to reconcile the differences. A core concepts ontology for a certain domain contained by a foundation ontology can be used to alleviate this problem and to facilitate the reconciliation efforts. Possible differences in the use of concepts from the core concepts to model entities in domain ontologies can be prevented by binding the domain ontology developers to some rules. These rules can be particularly useful for domain ontologies requiring some kind of traceability of their concepts in the foundation ontology. The mediation system can then use this traceability to establish similarities between two ontologies. Software applications, like the one explained in this paper, can then be developed to perform the mediation task automatically and accurately

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

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

Cross domain knowledge verification: verifying knowledge in foundation based domain ontologies

Knowledge verification refers to the process of making sure that the knowledge shared between knowledge bases of two parties is correctly understood on both sides. Domain ontologies developed out of a foundation ontology have a potential to improve the knowledge verification methods. This can be done by following concepts in domain ontologies to their origin and constituent conceptualisations in the foundation ontology. This is possible when matching ontologies belonging to two different domains but developed out of a single foundation ontology. Along with the concepts, a prescribed way of using these concepts by domain ontology builders also needs to be included in the foundation ontology. This prescribed way can exist in the form of an ontology of constraints which governs and shapes the building of domain ontologies according to the needs of the verification system and thus makes them more interoperable

Shape feature based ontological engineering product models

Ontologies are being used for product modelling in the manufacturing sector. This modelling of engineering components in the form of ontologies is more efficient and manageable if a component is divided into distinct shape features. Experience from industry shows that interoperable product models provide a good foundation for knowledge sharing between design and manufacture,. Use of Common Logic to build feature-based ontological product models shows that once the individual features are defined completely, the aggregated component can be built with little effort. This component model can then be used to associate manufacturability knowledge with it to be shared with the designer and other interested parties. Use of a standardized feature library can further enhance the interoperability of these feature based ontological models if the independent ontology development parties commit themselves to this standard library

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