A holonic architecture of the concurrent integrated process planning system

This paper describes a conceptual architecture of applying holon to process planning (PP) for integrating design, PP, and shop floor scheduling so that a concurrent integrated process planning system (CIPPS) is constructed. The problem in PP has been mapped onto a holonic architecture based on multistage cooperation. A holonic architecture for CIPPS integrates all the activities of PP into a distributed intelligent open environment. Holons for CIPPS can be organized dynatnically, and cooperate with each other to perform an appointed task flexibly. In addition, using CORBA technology, a prototype system of the CIPPS is implemented. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.