Evolvable assembly systems - On the role of design frameworks and supporting ontologies

Evolvable assembly systems (EAS) are aimed to enable enterprises to rapidly respond to changes in today's increasingly volatile and dynamic global markets. One of the key success factors for the effective use of EAS is methods and tools that can rapidly configure and reconfigure assembly systems driven by changing requirements. The focus of this paper is on the analysis of modular assembly systems within the EAS paradigm. The specific roles of synthetic design environments and their supporting knowledge models are being explored within the scope of EAS systems. Furthermore, the paper outlines an ontology for the design of modular assembly systems (ONTOMAS) and illustrates its enabling role within the EAS paradigm. The results of this work are expected to significantly improve the evolvability of modular assembly systems