Software Defined Manufacturing (SDM)

The term refers to the software-centered control and optimization of manufacturing processes, in which the focus is on the software rather than the equipment/hardware.

The SDM approach continues to use classic machine and production process-specific PLC control but addresses it via service interfaces. This brings process knowledge that is deeply rooted in the PLC and expensive to change to a higher level of abstraction. The machines are defined, controlled, and adapted via software—similar to a smartphone, whose functionality is determined by apps. The result: changes to the process can be implemented more quickly and efficiently.

The core concepts include:

• Flexibility: Production systems can be adapted quickly and cost-effectively to new requirements—through software updates instead of physical modifications.
• Modularity: Machines and processes are broken down into “capabilities” provided by mechatronic modules. These modules are software-controlled and reconfigurable.
• IT-OT convergence: The integration of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) enables end-to-end data processing and control from the office to the factory floor.
• Virtualization: Control logic is moved from the control cabinet to the cloud, enabling centralized management and scalability.

• The “software level” is easier and faster to adapt and requires less investment.
• The digitization and networking of the control level enable simpler optimizations and automations that can increase flexibility and productivity or optimize for different goals.

Control components describe modular, semantically defined capabilities of machines and systems and make them available via clearly specified, service-oriented interfaces. Machine functions are defined independently of the specific PLC program, made accessible, and can thus be systematically orchestrated and automated. At the higher level, the administration shell integrates these capabilities into a standardized digital representation model. It encapsulates states, technical data, parameters, and configuration information in a manufacturer-neutral manner and makes them available via defined submodels.

Companies that adopt these architectures early on are creating a future-proof foundation for modular, updatable, and interoperable production systems. They reduce long-term integration costs, accelerate changeovers, and avoid vendor lock-in. In addition, competition is increasingly shifting toward software-driven production flexibility. Those who start now to clearly model their machine capabilities and make them usable via standardized interfaces will be able to implement new business models, AI-supported optimizations, and digital service offerings much more quickly. Early investments thus secure not only technical but also strategic advantages in the transition to the software-defined factory.

In the context of Industry 4.0, many concepts and solutions have been developed that can be used to enable the necessary abstraction layers and thus flexible building blocks for easy changeability.

Digital product passports and an infrastructure with standardized interfaces for managing the systems play a central role here, as shown in the following figure:

Both can be implemented with the help of the Asset Administration Shell, for which there is a powerful, free, open-source implementation available in BaSyx.

At Fraunhofer IESE, the topic of production flexibility has been addressed in projects for many years, and suitable technologies have been developed and refined in many application scenarios. The implementations of well-known companies provide a good overview.

Do you have any further questions or are you interested in discussing the concept of software-defined manufacturing in the context of your company with our experts?