Unternehmen & Trends - Ausgabe 1/2018

68 Unternehmen & Trends Originally conceived as an exchange format for engineering data, AutomationML has evolved into a powerful description format qualifying for international standardisation. In the PLUGandWORK context, AutomationML is used in the self-designation of equipment, machinery and plant as well as control units and network components. AutomationML has the potential to develop into a basic for- mat for describing Industry 4.0 components, consisting of the (physical) asset and its ad- ministration shell. Combined with eCl@ss to facilitate clear designations of attributes and the communication protocol OPC UA, it con- stitutes a key component in semantic inter- operability, i.e. for comprehensible, consistent, real-time data exchange in the Industrial In- ternet of Things. AutomationML is also a key technology for describing ‘digital twins’. OPC United Architecture (OPC UA) is a mod- ern and effective communication standard that is becoming firmly established in man- ufacturing industries around the world. Both standards have the potential to describe Industry 4.0 components in such a way that they can be deployed interchangeably. One particular challenge of Industry 4.0 in- volves ensuring existing machines and sys- tems are able to communicate by means of suitable upgrades that do not disrupt current operations. Machinery must be upgraded so that operators only need to install an adapter to allow machines to transmit data outwardly. These upgrades are advertised as IIoT adapters, gateways or middleware solutions. In the case of Industry 4.0, how- ever, it is not enough to enable equipment to exchange data alone. Upgrades that are genuinely compatible with Industry 4.0 in- clude exemplary descriptions of machinery, plant and data thereof along with suitably future-proof communication solutions. One possible answer is available in the form of the PLUGand-WORK cube from the Fraunhofer IOSB. At the heart of Fraunhofer PLUGandWORK solutions is the configuration database. This contains configuration data in the form of self-descriptions for various machine and control unit types; as a learning system, it simplifies and supports the connections be- tween machinery, plant and superordinate IT systems. The second element of PLUGand- WORK is the generation of process control images for visualisation systems (HMI) from the self-descriptions. New business models for mechanical and plant engineering firms and component suppliers Where components or machines contain self-descriptions stored on embedded sys- tems, single board computers or other com- puters in production, it is also useful to store runtime data from the operation; new servic- es and business models can then be based on this data. For example, component suppli- ers could manage spare parts for customers based on knowledge of expected malfunc- tions, thereby improving the availability of machines and systems. Summary The solution modules outlined above (self-de- scription, communication set-up and visualis- ation generation) enable plant operators, sys- tem integrators, mechanical and equipment engineering firms, component manufacturers and suppliers of production-relevant IT sys- tems to save engineering costs linked to the commissioning of machines and systems and changes in production. That said, software is poised to become a distinct element of the product portfolio – with all the challenges as- sociated with a professional software devel- opment process, including quality assur-ance, maintenance and service concepts. The aforementioned possibilities for influenc- ing the digital transformation in compa-nies are potential approaches along the path to Industry 4.0 rather than one-size-fits-all solu- tions; Industry 4.0 must be tailored to the individual needs of companies according to their clients, products and culture. ■ These material flow modules (German: ,,Rollenbahnförderer") are sold out of the box. Each module carries a small control that connects itself automatically with its successor and predecessor. They are used e.g. in storages and are rearranged very often. The decentral approach minimizes efforts for engineering and configuration. (siehe auch http://www.gebhardt­ foerdertechnik.de/de/produkte/ flexconveyor ) From STEP-files and topology descriptions... AutomationML Model � ■ lageMOC � ■ lWasc mod 1 IIIVIS �acet St rung � ■ Prozessbesclv e ibung 1 2S p ülmodul l 1 3Spülmodul2 ' ■ 4 T rockr,u ng 5mod I_ mb Wert e ugmaga z m G GreifarmSch - LJn elOSB-INA 4> Automa on UnterfaceClasslib 4> Secu re Pn Wln te rface ib 4>A oma on U n terfaceClan l iblog .cs fl A ut o m a , onM LBase RoleC 5S fl Au oma onMLCSRoeClass 1b f3 Automa onMLDMJRoleC au fl Autom a tion MLExt en dedR � ass lJ b � SeC\JrePnWRo e l 1 b ...the visualization is generated online without any manual work Gebhardt-Visu ProVis.Visu WinCC� -- Fraunhofer IOSB www.mes.fraunhofer.de PLUG and WORK www.plugandwork.fraunhofer.de Websites Additional value: visualization can be generated and connected