Open product lifecycle management (PLM) for cloud manufacturing and cloud-based maintenance integration using XML

Product lifecycle management (PLM) is concerned with managing all the processes of product transition from cradle to the grave. Phases of a product life are inception, engineering design, manufacture, service, and disposal. A product passes through different systems, organisations, and users as it completes the life cycle. Global markets of today have increased the complex nature of a product path. All the life cycle phases rely upon product data for efficient management. In order to ease the strain of managing products throughout the lifecycle, a common product data schema is needed. Currently many platforms for product design use different proprietary schemas that make it difficult to have smooth lifecycle management. The chapter illustrates applications of an open source, XML-based schema for product lifecycle management. The main focus is on the inclusion of the Cloud in order to have new generation cloud product life cycle management (CPLM). The main driver of CPLM is cloud-model-based systems engineering (CMBSE). Within the framework of CMBSE are cloud-based design (CBD), cloud manufacturing (CM), and cloud-based maintenance (CBM). The three subsystems of CMBSE can be combined to form a single term, cloud-based design, manufacturing, and maintenance (CBDMM). Cloud computing, manufacturing, and maintenance are not new concepts, but many enterprises have not yet embraced them because of lack of complete seamless integration across various levels and processes in the product life. Many systems are still being run in silos of automation. CPLM is a service-oriented (SOA) model comprised of a pool of technologies such as cloud computing (CC), IoT, virtualization, and service-oriented technologies to support collaboration, sharing, and management across PLM phases.