The increasing volatility of the markets and the growing demand for customized products are challenges for future production to ensure maximum flexibility and adaptability. This paper introduces software-defined value stream process systems (SVPSs), a novel approach that extends the concept of software-defined manufacturing into autonomous, reconfigurable production systems. SVPSs establish a cyber–physical chain that links product features to requirements, enabling their fulfillment through modular machine and process hardware. A modular construction kit of individually combinable hardware and associated software modules is presented. These modules are coordinated via a digital process chain that enables holistic simulations, optimizations, and planning based on a Digital Twin. This system is based on software-defined manufacturing but extends it into autonomous reconfigurable machines. By enabling virtual planning and commissioning of entire production lines, the SVPS concept provides an efficient and adaptable solution to meet the demands of volatile markets.

Industrial robots are commonly used in various industries due to their flexibility. However, their adoption for machining tasks is minimal because of the low dynamic stiffness characteristic of serial kinematic chains. To overcome this problem, we propose coupling two industrial robots at the flanges to form a parallel kinematic machining system. Although parallel kinematic chains are inherently stiffer, one possible disadvantage of the proposed system is that it is heavily overactuated. We perform a modal analysis to show that this may be an advantage, as the redundant degrees of freedom can be used to shift the natural frequencies by applying tension to the coupling module. To demonstrate the validity of our approach, we perform a milling experiment using our coupled system. An external measurement system is used to show that tensioning the coupling module causes a deformation of the system. We further show that this deformation is static over the tool path and can be compensated for.

The increasing volatility of the markets and the growing demand for customized products are the challenges for the production of the future to ensure maximum flexibility and adaptability. This paper presents the development of a cyber-physical chain linking product features to requirements and their fulfillment in machine and process hardware to form a modular, reconfigurable production system. The conception and realization of universal production systems is investigated. A modular construction kit of individually combinable hardware and associated software modules is presented. These modules are coordinated via a digital process chain that enables holistic simulations, optimizations, and planning based on digital twins. This system is based on software-defined manufacturing but extends it into autonomous reconfigurable machines. The virtual planning and commissioning of entire production lines aims to achieve efficient and adaptable production in volatile markets.