Engineering process of integrated – distributed shop floor architecture based on interoperable field components

The engineering process dealing with the integrated - distributed architecture of shop floor production systems is formalized and validated. This work is justified by the recurring needs of industrial system engineering processes and their reference models to allow the system structure change and adapt as a dynamic organization. The engineering process is not focused on the product definition ('the What' of the Enterprise) but on the definition of the operational system ('the How') at the shop floor level, which supports product manufacturing. The modelling of the operational system is based on the application of the reference models and leads to the building of a physical shop floor architecture, which is composed of coordinated and cooperating interoperable and reusable hardware/software field components (devices). This coordination and cooperation is required to form a functionally integrated and physically distributed architecture. Such architecture provides an optimized performance through the integration of information (operational whole) and also more flexibility through the distribution of software intelligence (responsiveness in manufacturing). The reference models are formalized inside a framework of the concepts of architecture engineering by using extended entity/relationship formalism, and they are partially supported by a dedicated case tool that allows automation of the engineering process. The validation phase of the engineering process consists of the application of the reference models in the design and implementation of the particular integrated - distributed shop floor architecture at the CRAN laboratory platform (level regulation loop). This work is expected to evolve towards the engineering process based increasingly on the emerging trends of defining intelligent architectures that would provide more adaptability advocated by the IMS initiative.