Future Modeling and Simulation of CPS-based Factories: an Example from the Automotive Industry

Cyber-Physical Production Systems (CPPS) stand as a synonym for the future factory environment (also Smart Factory) and are characterized by their scalable and modular structure. The CPPS-paradigm facilitates the integration, adaptation and replacement of production units, e.g. in case of scaling up or down the production capacity to satisfy unpredictable market demands or to respond flexibly to disruptions and failures. However, to reach the next generation of CPPS or Smart Factories, the concurrent combination of the physical world with its digital counterpart will be crucial. Given the fact that products are becoming even more complex and that the product life cycle decreases, the usage of simulation tools grow in importance for the optimization and acceleration of all phases of the production life-cycle. Simulation tools are intended to support (re-)engineering and decision-making processes, to evaluate the impact of external and internal changes and to react in a timely manner to critical influences on production management. This paper deals with upcoming challenges to exploit the full potential of modeling and simulation within Smart Factories. To address these challenges, an appropriate framework for modeling and simulation of CPS-based factories is presented. The framework is being applied in one of the most competitive, advanced and complex industrial sector, the automotive industry.