A FORMAL METHODOLOGY FOR INFORMATION MODEL LEVEL INTEGRATION IN CIM SYSTEMS

Manufacturing systems are complex and involve multiple software applic ations, each containing an internal representation of the manufacturin g system in the form of a database or data files. Each database is an instantiation of a data model which is developed as an abstract repres entation of the environment of the tool. The model therefore, defines an application's database and is influenced by how the users of an app lication view the system. These views are be influenced by where in th e product or manufacturing system life cycle the software is used, wha t functional areas use the software, and the detail at which the syste m is modeled Early attempts at integration focused of overcoming the c ommunications difficulties between computers. This paper presents a fr amework for integrating CIM software applications by developing a unif ied system view. In effect developing a common language into which eac h tool can map it's representation. Finding the common data becomes a function then of identifying which data overlaps. This view identifies software applications which contain duplicate and possibly inconsiste nt data. These overlaps of data are then characterized by formal prope rties which can be used to maintain consistency. These formal properti es establish precedence and whether data is a constraint an exact valu e or an estimated value. Duplicate data can be used to establish const raints that one software system places on other systems. Duplicate dat a can also be shared between systems.