The modularization of production systems in the laboratory, in a pilot plant and in production is constantly increasing. Increasingly fine-grained service structures require new mechanisms for combining these fine-grained functions. Since orchestration solutions reach their limits here, this paper presents the application of automation service choreographies based on two practical application scenarios in modular production and evaluates them using a modular laboratory system. The result shows that choreographies are suitable for this type of combination.

Die Modularisierung von Produktionssystemen im Labor, im Technikum und in der Produktion nimmt stetig zu. Immer feingranularere Dienste-Strukturen erfordern neuartige Mechanismen zur Zusammenführung eben dieser feingranularen Funktionen. Da Orchestrierungslösungen hier an Grenzen stoßen, wird in diesem Beitrag die Anwendung von Automatisierungsdienste-Choreografien anhand zweier praxisrelevanter Anwendungsszenarien in der modularen Produktion vorgestellt und mittels einer modularen Laboranlage evaluiert. Im Ergebnis zeigt sich, dass Choreografien für diese Art der Zusammenführung geeignet sind.

In Modular Automation, the orchestration creates the link between process equipment assemblies (PEA) and processes towards operation. This paper presents a general methodology, so-called type-based orchestration, on how to design a fully functional modular process plant based on the module type package (MTP). In a number of discussion rounds, the steps were identified, generalized, and formulated as a method. Existing standards were applied to describe additional required information. The resulting phases and steps, as well as the practical application, have shown that a large part of the planning can be done using only the type-information of planned modules. The type-based orchestration is later completed with instance information. The methodology was tested against a modular distillation plant from the Technical University of Dortmund.

In Modular Automation, the orchestration creates the link between process equipment assemblies (PEA) and processes towards operation. This paper presents a general methodology, so-called type-based orchestration, on how to design a fully functional modular process plant based on the module type package (MTP). In a number of discussion rounds, the steps were identified, generalized, and formulated as a method. Existing standards were applied to describe additional required information. The resulting phases and steps, as well as the practical application, have shown that a large part of the planning can be done using only the type-information of planned modules. The type-based orchestration is later completed with instance information. The methodology was tested against a modular distillation plant from the Technical University of Dortmund.

The increased flexibility resulting from the modularization of process plants requires an advanced strategy to supervise the distributed control systems (DCSs). The connection and coordination of multiple process equipment assemblies (PEAs) into a modular plant (MP) is called orchestration and conducted in a so-called process orchestration layer (POL). Standardized interfaces enable a seamless integration of PEAs into an MP. Current process control systems do not yet meet all required features regarding to interfaces and possibility of import/export of different data structures. Several aspects are presented which shall be taken into account when designing a POL. The POL's several layers are described in detail, resulting especially in flexibility and reusability of modular plants.