DFKI/IM&DA-00 S. 1

The CLOCKWORK Project*

Overview of the

ELOTHERM and DFKI Perspectives

*Creating Learning Organisations with Contextualised Knowledge-rich WORK artefacts

Clockwork Meeting, July 12th, 2000

Harold Boley, Ansgar Bernardi Detlev Stahl, Robert Jürgens, Andreas Seitzer

{boley,bernardi}@dfki.uni-kl.de{d.stahl,r.juergens,a.seitzer}@elotherm.de

CLOCKWORK Preparation S. 2

Basic Data

• Topic: Web-based knowledge managementfor collaborative engineering

• Funded by EU (5th Framework)

• Three years (1 July 2000 - 30 June 2003)

• European Partners (Coordinator: Open University, KMI):– Five research centres– Two engineering companies

• Homepage: http://kmi.open.ac.uk/projects/clockwork/

CLOCKWORK Preparation S. 3

Objectives

1 Support teams in sharing knowledge-enriched simulation models of dynamical systems

2 Support reuse of simulation and modelling knowledge across the organisation

3 Support cautious knowledge sharing between engineering companies

CLOCKWORK Preparation S. 4

Objective 1

• Product development teams collaboratively create, test, and modify simulation models of designs

• Often distributed, for example between centrally located staff and product testers in the field

• Existing support mechanisms often separated from tools of work, but knowledge can only be fully/efficiently expressed within its context

Support team-level knowledge sharing by integrating work tools(in our case dynamical system simulation tools) withformal documents, informal discussions, and knowledge models

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CLOCKWORK Preparation S. 5

Objective 2

• Knowledge to be shared is contained in formal/informal documents and the dynamical system simulations themselves

• Contextual reuse from vast archives of previous designs requires retrieval tools to deliver the right knowledge at the right time

• Surface criteria (text phrases, simulation components) enriched by knowledge-level representation of the reusable design’s domain

Support effective knowledge reuse by retrieving richrepresentations of a design according toknowledge-level models of the domain and the design process

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CLOCKWORK Preparation S. 6

Objective 3

• Companies need methods/tools to negotiate, trade, and collaborate, thus sharing community knowledge and hiding private knowledge

• Cautious, selective sharing of knowledge is vital for business-to-business collaboration

• Facilitation of these processes also supports continuous innovation in participating companies

Support cautious knowledge sharing via knowledge interfacingbetween “competitive-collaborating” companies

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weltweite Stützpunkte / world-wide bases

ELOTHERMROBOTRON FUJI

Vertriebsnetz mit mehr als 50 Partnern weltweit für Lieferungen in 72 LänderSales network with more than 50 partners world-wide for supplies into 72 countries

Branchen

Weltweit ist ELOTHERM in derPlanung, Projektierung,Errichtung und Inbetriebnahme sowie im globalen Service fürkomplette Kundenlösungen, sowohlbei einfachen Einzelanlagen wie auch bei hochautomatisierten,verketteten Anlagen, ein führenderAnbieter.

ELOTHERM leads worldwide in the areas of planning, project work, assembly and commissioning as well as in the provision of global service for complete customer solutions both in the case of simple individual systems and highly automated, linked systems.

Steelworks

Forging shops

Tube Industry

Die Construction

Automotive Industry

Aircraft Construction

Kunden / Customers

Härte-und VergütungstechnikUmschmelz-Härtetechnik

Inductive hardening and quenching & tempering technology

Induktions-Erwärmungstechnik

Induction-heating technology

Induktions-Schweiß-, Glüh und Sondertechnik

Annealing, welding and special application

Funkenerosionstechnik

Spark erosion technology

ELOWIG-Umschmelzhärten

- Anlagen für Nockenwellen mit voll- und halbauto- matischen Arbeitsstationen

- Mittlerer Durchsatz etwa 120 Nockenwellen pro Stunde

-Vielseitig und flexibel

ELOWIG-Remelt-Hardening

- Equipment for camshafts with full-and semiautomatic working stations

- Average throughput of same 120 camshafts per hour

- Versatile and flexible

Härte- und VergütungstechnikHardening and tempering technique

THIXO - Technologie mit Zukunft

- Erwärmungsmodul mit 2 THIXO Stationen für ALU-Bolzen

- Arbeitsbeispiele PKW-Bauteile

THIXO - Technology of the future

- Heating module with 2 THIXO-Stations for AL-slugs

- Examples Suspension component

ErwärmungstechnikHeating technique

Industrielle Elektrowärmezum:

Härten / Vergüten Erwärmen Rühren Schweißen Glühen Kleben Sonderanwendungen

Industrial Electroheatingfor:

Hardening/Tempering Heating Stirring Welding Annealing Bonding Special applications

Prinzipbild - Induktionserwärmungsprozess Example illustrating - induction heating process

ELBOMAT P1F

Festportal Senkerosions- anlage mit frei zugänglichem, an drei Seiten automatisch zu öffnendem Arbeitsbehälter.

Ideal für Problemlösungen großer Senk-Erosionsauf- gaben bei höchster Präzision.

ELBOMAT P1F

Fixed Portal machine with freely accessible work tank automatically opend on three sides.

Ideal problem solvers for large sinking erosion applications.

FunkenerosionSpark erosion technique

ELOMAT Frequenz-Umrichter fürindustrielleElektrowärme undSonderanwendungen.

PraxisgerechtesProgramm modularerUmrichtertypen.

ELOMAT FrequencyConverters forindustrial heating andspecial applications.

Practical program of modular converter types.

Frequenz-UmrichterFrequency converters

CLOCKWORK Preparation S. 15

The transfer to the ELOTHERM situation follows the ENRICH methodology

• Identify the scenario– effective handling of maintenance experiences concerning,

e.g., inductive heaters

• Identify the representations of work– fault descriptions/maintenance reports provided by service

technicians

• Build the knowledge model– suitable model of, e.g., inductive heaters (part-of hierarchy)

and possible faults– useable for structuring of incoming reports– perhaps useable to support generation of reports

Step 1 results in a structured archive of maintenance experience

CLOCKWORK Preparation S. 16

To proceed towards organizational learning we install the discussion space

• Model-based retrieval of experience reports facilitates easy access to earlier information

• Discussion tool allows free exchange of ideas in a group of engineers

• Monitoring of the discussion and the results allows to identify new best practices / newly generated know-how

Step 2 codifies best practices: To identify and maintain new knowledge we need a group knowledge developer

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Integration with suitable simulation tools enhances the discussion capability

• Suitable simulation modules can be added to the machine model

• Experience reports that are linked to a particular machine component can be augmented by the appropriate simulation component

• The integrated simulation/discussion tool will facilitate a realistic test of the new ideas

Step 3 will test in practice a main result of the CLOCKWORK development

CLOCKWORK Preparation S. 18

Knowledge created in the CLOCKWORK environment might be useful for customers and partners

• Define a model of knowledge confidentiality to describe what may be shared

• Define classes of sharing partners (e.g. customer, other departments, development group)

• Realise filter modules and active information distribution

Step 4 (possible result): Automatic feedback of suitable knowledge to the (remote) maintenance people

CLOCKWORK Preparation S. 19

Using the CLOCKWORK knowledge-management tool at ELOTHERM: „Engineer (diagnosis/maintenance) reports“

• ELOTHERM „Engineer Reports“ in heterogeneous formats: Excel tables, Word documents, notes, etc.

• Since reporting guidelines are not enforced, there are variations in precision and detail

• Interactively develop a small set of forms capturing the required Engineer-Report content (cf. Step 1)

• Develop human-readable form annotations and indexes managed by CLOCKWORK tool (cf. Step 1)

• Introduce these forms at ELOTHERM together with the added-value of the discussion space (cf. Step 2)

The current situation:

Improving the situation:

CLOCKWORK Preparation S. 20

Using the CLOCKWORK knowledge-management tool at ELOTHERM: „Simulation data modelling and exchange“

• Selected experimental data (ELOTHERM) and simulation data (INTEC) could be exchanged between the CLOCKWORK partners for validation and modelling (cf. Step 3)

• Improve the simulation models and integrate with Engineer Reports for better future constructions, respecting knowledge confidentiality (cf. Step 4)

Experiment --> Real parameters + Induced formulas <-->Simulation --> Derived parameters (linear? ... discontinuous?)