A systematic top-down information modelling approach for workshop-type manufacturing systems

Workshop-type manufacturing systems grow over time and therefore they have heterogeneous communication interfaces. Digitalization can be an enabler to lowering their costs and improving their performance. This can be facilitated with the introduction of common information models. But the widespread introduction of information models in such manufacturing environments is entailed with significant efforts and risks. This paper describes how existing workshop-type manufacturing environments can be documented in such a way that they can subsequently be reproduced in an OPC UA information model.