Changeable Production Systems for Learning Factories and Research-based Learning

The market environment of manufacturing companies is characterized by numerous challenges. In the course of individualized mass production, companies are faced with the challenge of efficiently and flexibly fulfilling customer-specific production orders. Consequently, current production is characterized by a high diversity of variants, small production batches and increasing volatility of demand. At the same time, uncertainties and volatility in supply chains pose an increasing challenge. Conventional rigid production systems are reaching their limits regarding product variant and product volume flexibility. Changeable production systems (CPS) are on the one hand capable to offer high product flexibility, but result in high system complexity on the other hand. To familiarize already students as well as professionals with these challenges and resulting system complexity, CPS need to be incorporated in education. Learning factories (LF) offer a predestined environment for the study of this system complexity. In this work, the demands and challenges for CPS are analyzed. Based on this, a research-based learning (RBL) oriented education within a LF is developed