Abstract: Flexible manufacturing systems have emerged to adapt to complex manufacturing tasks. With changing market demands and the development of automation, information technology, and management science, flexible manufacturing has gradually covered all areas of industrial production. This paper first introduces the goals of flexible manufacturing, focusing on the horizontal and vertical integration of open networks and equipment, the fusion of open software architectures, factory integration based on new software integration-centric integration development platforms (such as Automation Studio), and flexible logistics systems using robots. Finally, it discusses the integration of information technology and the fusion of automation systems and information systems in smart factories.
1. Introduction
The concept of Flexible Manufacturing (FMS) has been around for almost half a century, initially proposed to handle the more complex production of automotive, shipbuilding, and heavy machinery parts and assembly. It integrates CNC machining, automated logistics, AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) technology, and computer control technology to achieve mass production of changing products. However, today, flexible manufacturing extends beyond rigid, measurable, and predictable processing objects and workflows like spare parts. With changing market demands and advancements in automation, information technology, and management science, the need for flexible manufacturing has gradually expanded to various industrial sectors, including consumer goods production such as beer and beverages, food, printing, plastics, and consumer electronics.
Therefore, we are not discussing FMS—the narrow concept and technology of flexible manufacturing—but rather a more flexible and adaptable production process. Based on changes in market demand, changes in automation technology, and the integration of information technology, we are exploring the broad needs and implementation of flexible manufacturing today.
2. The goal of flexible production
Modern enterprise market operations are based on market pull rather than traditional push. This makes it different from traditional FMS, which aims to solve problems in production organization and focuses on solving its own production needs. Today's flexible production aims to solve customer needs and focuses on customer needs.
2.1 A more personalized and differentiated market
In 2014, Coca-Cola began offering consumers a completely new, more personalized label design. In markets like India, Coca-Cola also provided accessories that allowed the bottles to be reused as sprayers, pencil sharpeners, and yogurt containers—typical examples of market differentiation and personalization. On one hand, there is consumer demand; on the other hand, companies are constantly using today's big data analytics to achieve differentiated products and services. This demand extends across different parts of the industry chain, from end consumers to manufacturers, then to machinery manufacturers and system providers, and finally to automation system and solution providers. This necessitates that automation technology address this demand and provide corresponding solutions.
2.2 Cost competition pressure
In fact, cost competition pressures are even more pressing for the consumer market. Although the materials used for mineral water bottles are limited, the huge production volume amplifies these costs. Even a 1% change, such as a 1% reduction in production system energy consumption, could translate into millions in cost savings. Today, companies need more than just better bottle production; they need to minimize costs. Technology must contribute to this to become more competitive.
2.3 The Development of Scientific Management
Management science is also constantly expanding. Through continuous mathematical modeling, it optimizes production planning and process analysis to improve enterprise production efficiency. These more flexible production organization models must also be realized through the integration of more flexible automation systems and information systems. The integration of fields with different characteristics must be achieved through measurable and connectable systems. This also means that automation must provide interfaces both horizontally and vertically. In addition, production data at the equipment level and MES and CIMS based on management decision-making and optimization analysis must be integrated.
3. Open automation technology enables interconnection.
3.1 Open Interface Interconnection
To achieve flexible manufacturing, it is necessary to overcome both horizontal and vertical equipment bottlenecks and leverage open interfaces. The bottleneck of factory integration lies in two dimensions of consideration:
The challenge in horizontal equipment integration lies in the fact that different companies have different suppliers of automation components, different bus standards, and different software platforms. This is the first data exchange link that needs to be established; otherwise, production lines that cannot be integrated will be unable to achieve synchronous control and efficient production. This eliminates intermediate handling or discrete conveying between machines in traditional production systems, thereby achieving continuous and efficient production.
Vertically, it is necessary to consider the interconnection between different products and achieve integration from sensors to controllers to the management level, which requires the interaction of data across the real-time domain and non-real-time domain.
3.1.1 Real-time Ethernet technology
Real-time Ethernet can solve production efficiency problems and also enable data integration in both real-time and non-real-time domains. Currently, architectures based on soft real-time design can achieve vertical integration from this perspective, as well as horizontal integration. For example, POWERLINK, PROFINET, and Ethernet/IP all have this capability, enabling high-speed, high-precision machining at the device level through distributed motion control at the microcontroller level, and achieving horizontal and vertical data connectivity between different controllers and at the workshop level.
POWERLINK is a typical architecture that can be directly integrated using software on Windows and Linux. This ensures the integration of management-level networks with low real-time requirements with motion control networks with high real-time requirements. The POWERLINK gateway is used to distinguish between their different data scheduling.
Figure 1. Schematic diagram of POWERLINK architecture
3.1.2 OPC-UA
Real-time Ethernet solves the interconnection problem, while OPC-UA solves the data access standard interface in the connection. It unifies the interface standard at the application level. For controllers from different manufacturers, OPC-UA provides application layer specifications for data acquisition of different devices in MES and SCADA systems. This ensures that the management system can effectively obtain data and serve the optimization of management data.
3.2 Open Software
The fundamental openness of flexible manufacturing plants requires network openness. As in the machinery field, applications vary across industries, especially when automated production systems are integrated with management systems. The challenge lies in the fact that typical automated systems use RTOS and embedded development platform tools based on architectures different from traditional management systems. This makes integration extremely difficult. Often, automation engineers are unfamiliar with management and expert software applications, while expert and management software engineers are unfamiliar with automation software, creating significant challenges. However, some leading automation vendors have achieved remarkable R&D results in this area.
3.2.1 Simulation Modeling
MATLAB/Simulink is a highly practical and professional tool for research on process software and control algorithms in many industries. However, in the past, there was a gap between MATLAB/Simulink and PLCs. Simulations on computers often could not be used directly on PLCs and required manual code conversion and porting. Engineers in these two fields often represented different areas. In 2008, Mathworks introduced C code for PLCs with Simulink PLC, and in 2012, it launched ST structured text code generation functionality. This enabled traditional PLCs to be directly used for code development. B&R's Automation Studio has the ability to generate code with one click and integrates well with Simulink. This ensures that process algorithms from different industries can be quickly ported to PLCs for operation.
3.2.2EPLAN
To facilitate engineering examples, EPLAN also interfaces with software such as B&R Automation Studio, which can convert configuration diagrams from automation vendors into electrical wiring diagrams. Simultaneously, EPLAN-based configurations can be imported into automation development platforms to generate configurations. This tool aims to reduce engineering workload.
3.2.3 Integration of 3D Software
This is a more common practice. For example, different 3D or AutoCAD software can generate G-code for machining, which can be directly accepted by CNC and robot systems under a general motion control architecture, thereby achieving full integration of equipment.
Open software is not limited to simulation modeling, engineering drawings, and 3D integration, but also includes communication, security, and more. This means that the integration of automation and management systems and industry expert systems is becoming closer, and integration must be achieved in a wider range of fields to ensure broader production interconnection.
4. The integrated platform enables seamless system connectivity.
For factory integration, platform architecture becomes more critical. Unlike traditional standalone equipment development tools, new integrated development platforms need to integrate in both depth and breadth. Depth for an integrated development platform includes the standardization of industry-specific libraries and the ability to implement open custom libraries, while breadth lies in the design of interconnected, open software interfaces and data interaction functions. B&R Automation Studio is a typical example of such a platform.
4.1 The core lies in software integration
Factory integration ranges from intelligent equipment to interconnected production lines. This interconnection also includes planned software integration, which requires software interconnection rather than just hardware interconnection. For CNC & Robotics, positioning control, safety, and hydraulics—control systems that are completely different under traditional architectures—an integrated architecture can seamlessly connect them under a unified software plan for the same controller. This ensures richer machine functions while enabling higher production efficiency based on interconnection.
Whether it's from smart devices to production lines, or from production lines to planned factories, these must be coupled through software. The unique characteristics of any industry will ultimately be manifested through software.
5. Logistics supply technology changes production organization
Due to factory interconnectivity and changes in production organization, systems that were originally categorized into different industries have been incorporated into the current systems, such as robots and logistics equipment. Traditionally, robots were not included in the field of automation but belonged to the machinery industry, and logistics was also a separate industry. Today, however, new factories are bringing all of these together more closely with automation.
5.1 Online Logistics for Robots
The greatest contribution of robotics is actually its ability to make the connection between machines in a factory more flexible. As production speeds increase, relying on manual labor is no longer sufficient to handle the frequency of factory transport, and expanding the workforce further is impractical in an era of rising costs. In short, faster transport is needed to meet production rhythms. On the other hand, high-degree-of-freedom robots allow for more flexible spatial organization of existing production machines. Robots can achieve spatial material handling and processing assistance by setting parameters, without requiring changes to machine setups or machinery. For example, AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) transport simplifies traditional large-scale material transport based on the assembly process of production workpieces, making production more flexible.
5.2 Flexible Logistics System
Material supply has become a core issue in flexible manufacturing today. We discuss the automated integration of production systems; however, if the supply of materials cannot be automatically fed and distributed according to production needs, then such intelligent manufacturing loses its meaning. For example, if finished products cannot be quickly delivered to warehouses for sorting, storage, and output, on the one hand, upstream suppliers will be unable to provide materials to downstream operations, leading to production disruptions; on the other hand, products piling up on the production line during high-speed production will hinder continuous production. This is a key reason why logistics is now also included in the field of automation.
6. Information technology integration connects production and management
The national strategy of "integration of informatization and industrialization" aims to solve the continuity problem of these production systems. Today, many facts prove that this is indeed a bottleneck. We have discussed many automation industry concepts such as Industry 4.0, smart factories, and digital factories. These can be initially realized in advanced enterprises, but for most traditional production, this is still a long and arduous development process.
6.1 MES Integration
Many companies' MES systems originated from the IT industry, resulting in a lack of understanding of automation technology, while automation vendors also lack understanding of MES. This is a bottleneck, and close cooperation between the two is needed to integrate MES and automation. MES processes data from the production plant, but currently it is limited to rudimentary online management functions such as production scheduling, quality control, and Kanban, failing to reflect the deeper needs of production and management. Many MES systems merely apply standard models from existing European and American factories, which are based on a solid digital foundation and management practices.
To integrate the MES system and the automation system, the automation system must first break down the existing open communication and software interconnection to achieve data foundation—digitalization; otherwise, it will be a smart factory built on thin air.
6.2 Energy Efficiency Management
Based on the basic data, we can achieve energy efficiency management, and monitor the supply and supply time of electricity, steam, compressed air, water, raw materials and other resources in the factory's production process. Energy efficiency is currently the easiest part of factory efficiency improvement to achieve and can be included in the first phase of the smart factory production flexibility project.
7. Conclusion
In the context of modern enterprises moving towards Industry 4.0, the integration of automation and information technology in factories has become a major technical strategy for achieving flexible production and improving production efficiency and product quality. The integration of automation technology, information technology and flexible manufacturing is a key issue that must be addressed in creating smart factories.
About the author: Song Huazhen (1972-) is currently the Marketing Manager and Engineer at B&R Industrial Automation (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. His main technical expertise is motion control and real-time communication technology.
