Digital manufacturing: The nexus of the real-time information enterprise and the digital factory using of flexible reconfigurable equipment

In this talk, we introduce three new concepts in manufacturing: First, we describe the real-time information enterprise, where local real-time decision making on the factory floor is being replaced by decision support systems determining (or even making) system-optimal resource allocation decisions based on the actual and predicted state of the manufacturing system. Secondly, we are moving towards a digital manufacturing engineering factory where manufacturing systems are completely designed, validated, and launched in math prior to commissioning. Thirdly, we will describe the research challenges in synchronizing the real-time information enterprise and the digital factory.