Production planning and control (PPC) system architecture for the use in networked additive manufacturing (AM) facilities

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM), also referred as 3D printing, is a disruptive innovation and is already indispensable in the field of prototype development. In the course of continuous development of the technology, it increasingly finds itself application in the industrial area. Traditionally, the flexibility of the production process was enabled by the Production Planning and Control (PPC) software module as a part of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. The main function of PPC is that of detailed scheduling and process planning, including monitoring and enabling changes in the process, thus catering to high(er) level of efficiency. To take advantages of traditional features and functions of PPC in the AM facility, the control functionality must be extended. For example, multiple printing facilities can be used in a company or even in a partner network. To develop PPC architecture which would cater for the new possibilities enabled by AM, we have examined the scope of functions and controls of the traditional PPC systems and identified those functions which require adaptation, which are redundant or those which are missing. Based on the results of this analysis, a conceptual design for an integrated PPC system for AM technology is presented. In the proposed architecture, individual PPC tasks and the interaction between the corresponding sections are described and functional requirements are elaborated. Implementation of PPC according to the proposed architecture bears a promise of production cost reduction due to more efficient utilization of the manufacturing facilities and allows controlling not only a single AM site, but any number of networked sites.