Abstract

This article presents an overview of a neutral reference architecture and data model for integrating distributed manufacturing simulation systems with each other, with other manufacturing software applications, and with manufacturing data repositories. Other manufacturing software applications include but are not limited to systems used to design products, specify processes, engineer manufacturing systems, and manage production. The architecture identifies the software building blocks and interfaces that will facilitate the integration of distributed simulation systems and enable the integration of those systems with other manufacturing software applications. The architecture builds on the High Level Architecture standard for simulation. The National Institute of Standards and Technology and its collaborators have created several implementations of portions of the architecture using commercial off-the-shelf simulators. These implementations demonstrated the feasibility of the architecture and highlighted the need for a neutral data model for exchanging manufacturing data between simulations.