Smart manufacturing. Reference architecture model industry 4.0 (RAMI4.0)

The technical innovation of the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0—I4.0) is based on the following respective conditions: horizontal and vertical integration of manufacturing systems, decentralization of computing resources and continuous digital engineering throughout the product life cycle. The reference architecture model for Industry 4.0 (RAMI 4.0) is a common model for systematizing, structuring and mapping the complex relationships and functionalities required in I4.0 applications. Despite its adoption in I4.0 projects, RAMI 4.0 is an abstract model, not an implementation guide, which hinders its current adoption and full deployment. As a result, many papers have recently studied the interactions required among the elements distributed along the three axes of RAMI 4.0 to develop a solution compatible with the model. This paper investigates RAMI 4.0 and describes our proposal for the development of an open-source control device for I4.0 applications. The control device is one of the elements in the hierarchy-level axis of RAMI 4.0. Its main contribution is the integration of open-source solutions of hardware, software, communication and programming, covering the relationships among three layers of RAMI 4.0 (assets, integration and communication). The implementation of a proof of concept of the control device is discussed. Experiments in an I4.0 scenario were used to validate the operation of the control device and demonstrated its effectiveness and robustness without interruption, failure or communication problems during the experiments.

In the context of Industry 4.0, lot of effort is being put to achieve interoperability among industrial applications. As the definition and adoption of communication standards are of paramount importance for the realization of interoperability, during the last few years different organizations have developed reference architectures to align standards in the context of the fourth industrial revolution. One of the main examples is the reference architecture model for Industry 4.0, which defines the asset administration shell as the corner stone of the interoperability between applications managing manufacturing systems. Inside Industry 4.0 there is also so much interest behind the standard open platform communications unified architecture (OPC UA), which is listed as the one recommendation for realizing the communication layer of the reference architecture model. The contribution of this paper is to give some insights behind modelling techniques that should be adopted during the definition of OPC UA Information Model exposing information of the very recent metamodel defined for the asset administration shell. All the general rationales and solutions here provided are compared with the current OPC UA-based existing representation of asset administration shell provided by literature. Specifically, differences will be pointed out giving to the reader advantages and disadvantages behind each solution.

The Industry 4.0 (I4.0) together with the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) enable business productivity to be improved through rapid changes in production scope in an increasingly volatile market. This technology innovation is perceived by integrating manufacturing systems, managing business rules, and decentralizing computing resources, enabling rapid changes in production systems. The Reference Architecture Model for Industry 4.0 (RAMI 4.0) is a three-dimensional layer model to support I4.0 applications. One of the major challenges for adopting RAMI 4.0 is the development of solutions that support the functionality of each layer and the necessary interactions between the elements of each layer. This paper focuses on the proposal of architecture for flexible manufacturing in I4.0 using all the Information Technology (IT) Layers of the RAMI 4.0. In order to enable a standardized and interoperable communication, the architecture used the OPC-UA protocol to connect the low layers elements in the factory perspective and REST APIs to connect the high layers in the business perspective. The integration architecture creates an online interface to provide the client the ability to enter, view, and even modify an order based on their needs and priorities, enabling the industry to implement rapid changes to adapt to the marketplace.

The world is increasingly interconnected, and this can also be seen in industry, where an ecosystem of digitalized assets, and humans with appropriate digital interfaces, constantly interact with each other. Digital transformation efforts in the industry rely on Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems that are driven by service-based cooperation among humans and digitalized industrial assets. This implies a radical paradigm change in their engineering and operation, which is focused on the symbiosis of digitalized assets and humans that cohabit a collaboration-driven industrial ecosystem. This work discusses how a digital transformation can effectively be achieved in an industrial ecosystem via a digitalization process performed along the three dimensions of the Reference Architecture Model for Industry 4.0, facilitated by the specification, development and implementation of an Asset Administration Shell. The discussion focus is put on humans and how the digitally transformed industrial environments empower her/his capabilities and interactions. It is also critically pointed out how one should go beyond technology and consider additional aspects. Therefore, it is argued that human-centred efforts in Industry 4.0 (I4.0) should be seen in the larger context of sustainability and circular economy in order to properly consider the interplay of the involved socio-technical dimensions. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Towards symbiotic autonomous systems’.

<p class="0abstract">Industry 4.0 is a strategic initiative recently introduced by the German government. The goal of the initiative is transformation of industrial manufacturing through digitalization and exploitation of potentials of new technologies. An Industry 4.0 production system is thus flexible and enables individualized and customized products. The aim of this paper is to present and facilitate an understanding of Industry 4.0 concepts, its drivers, enablers, goals and limitations. Building blocks are described and smart factory concept is presented. A Reference Architecture Model RAMI4.0 and role of standardization in future implementation of Industry 4.0 concept are addressed. The current status of Industry 4.0 readiness of the German companies is presented and commented. Finally it is discussed if Industry 4.0 is really a disruptive concept or simply a natural incremental development of industrial production systems.</p>

Digital Twins have been in the focus of research in recent years, trying to achieve the vision of Industry 4.0. In the domain of industrial energy systems, they are applied to facilitate a flexible and optimized operation. With the help of Digital Twins, the industry can participate even stronger in the ongoing renewable energy transition. Current Digital Twin implementations are often application-specific solutions without general architectural concepts and their structures and namings differ, although the basic concepts are quite similar. For this reason, we analyzed concepts, architectures, and frameworks for Digital Twins in the literature to develop a technology-independent Generic Digital Twin Architecture (GDTA), which is aligned with the information technology layers of the Reference Architecture Model Industry 4.0 (RAMI4.0). This alignment facilitates a common naming and understanding of the proposed architectural structure. A proof-of-concept shows the application of Semantic Web technologies for instantiating the proposed GDTA for a use case of a Packed-Bed Thermal Energy Storage (PBTES).

<p class="0papertitle">The fourth industrial revolution or industry 4.0 has become a trend topic nowadays, this standard-based strategy integrates Smart Factories, Cyber-physical systems, Internet of Things, and Internet of Service with the aim of extended the capacities of the manufacturing systems. Although several authors have presented the advantages of this approach, few papers refer to an architecture that allows the correct implementation of industry 4.0 applications using the guidelines of the reference architecture model (RAMI 4.0). In this way, this article exposes the essential characteristics that allow a manufacturing system to be retrofitting as a correct industry 4.0 application. Specifically, an intelligent manufacturing system under a holonic approach was developed and implemented using standards like FDI, AutomationML and OPC UA according to the RAMI 4.0</p>