The framework design of smart factory in discrete manufacturing industry based on cyber-physical system

A cyber-physical system (CPS) is a new trend in smart manufacturing-related research, where the physical system acts as a data access role with sensors and communication systems to collect real-world information and communicate to computation modules (i.e. cyber layer), which further analyse and notify the findings to the corresponding physical systems through multiple feedback loops. This paper develops a conceptual framework for a new paradigm called smart factory based on CPS by applying virtual-real mapping and fusion, digital twin, big data-driven, virtualisation, and edge-to-cloud service technology to the manufacturing system. The definitions, characteristics, architectures and previous case studies on smart factory based on CPS are explained in detail. In the paradigm, the digital twin merges the physical system modelling and cyberspace simulation to provide an intelligence solution simulation analysis ability. This generates a variety of digital designs of production processes, quality, cost, efficiency and environmental impact analysis about smart factory business mode in the preproduction phase based on big data which can be analysed, and provide authoritative solutions for actual physical space. The proposed system is applied and validated in a real case study from the circuit breaker production industry.