Control of manufacturing processes in metal processing industry

An interior localization system to control process procedures in the industrial production of workpieces from steel or sheet metal in a manufacturing hall, the interior localization system comprising:

• a plurality of transceiver units permanently installed in the manufacturing hall;
• at least one mobile unit;
• and
• an analysis unit,
• wherein the transceiver units and the at least one mobile unit are configured to transmit and receive electromagnetic signals, and
• wherein the analysis unit is configured
• to determine runtimes of the electromagnetic signals travelling between the transceiver units and the at least one mobile unit, and
• to determine a position of the at least one mobile unit in the manufacturing hall based on the runtimes of the electromagnetic signals.

A method of industrially manufacturing an end product using a manufacturing control system, the method comprising:

• receiving a manufacturing order for manufacturing the end product from a workpiece by a manufacturing execution system (MES) of the manufacturing control system implemented in a data processing device;
• selecting individual processing steps with the MES;
• determining a sequence of the processing steps with the MES, the processing steps being selected from the group consisting of:
• cutting, laser cutting, punching, bending, drilling, thread cutting, grinding, assembling, welding, riveting, screwing, pressing, and treating the edges and surfaces;
• associating the processing steps with a first machine or a first workstation unit;
• associating the manufacturing order with a mobile unit data set in the MES;
• manufacturing the workpiece to form at least part of the end product according to a first step of the processing steps at the first machine or the first workstation unit associated with the processing step;
• spatially associating of the mobile unit associated with the manufacturing order with the manufactured workpiece;
• storing a status change of the manufacturing order in the MES, the change of status indicating that the first step is performed on the workpiece;
• transporting the manufactured workpiece together with the mobile unit in accordance with the manufacturing order to a second machine or a second workstation unit in a predetermined sequence;
• performing a second step of the processing step at the second machine or the second workstation unit;
• and
• storing another status change of the manufacturing order in the MES indicating that the second step is performed on the workpiece;
• wherein a position of the mobile unit is determinable with a localization system at any time by the MES on the basis of electro-magnetic signals transmitted from and to the mobile unit, and the MES has data on a current status and a current position of the workpiece at any time.