An AutomationML Domain Library for the Formalized Process Description
2026-06-02 • Software Engineering
Software EngineeringDatabases
AI summaryⓘ
The authors created a detailed digital library to represent Formalized Process Description (FPD) models in a machine-readable format using AutomationML standards. This library includes components for roles, connections, attributes, and system templates, all organized based on a specific engineering data model called CAEX 3.0. They also built a tool that can convert between web-based FPD diagrams and the new AutomationML format to show how it works. Their work aims to help standardize FPD data exchange and is open for community feedback before becoming an official standard.
Formalized Process Description (FPD)VDI/VDE 3682AutomationML (AML)CAEX 3.0RoleClassLibInterfaceClassLibAttributeTypeLibSystemUnitClassLibmachine-readable formatmodel exchange
Authors
Hamied Nabizada, Rainer Drath, Felix Gehlhoff, Alexander Fay
Abstract
The Formalized Process Description (FPD) according to VDI/VDE 3682 provides a standardized graphical notation for describing processes across engineering domains but lacks a standardized, tool-independent data format for machine-readable model exchange. This paper presents an AutomationML (AML) domain library that formalizes the complete set of FPD language elements, their attributes, connection semantics, and graphical representation information as class libraries based on the Computer Aided Engineering Exchange (CAEX) 3.0 metamodel. The library comprises five interrelated parts: a RoleClassLib defining the semantic roles, an InterfaceClassLib for connection types, two AttributeTypeLibs for the information model and diagram interchange, and a SystemUnitClassLib providing instantiation templates. Key design decisions regarding inheritance, diagram structure, hierarchical decomposition, and the representation of graphical information are discussed along with the alternatives that were considered. A bidirectional mapping tool demonstrates the library's applicability by converting between a web-based FPD modeler and AML. The library is proposed as a candidate for Part 3 of VDI/VDE 3682. It is available together with an example and a feedback function for community input ahead of standardization at https://aml.fpbjs.net.