A Platform Architecture for Materials Science Ontologies
Three industrial perspectives on one ontology — material · compliance · value chain. Four layers as a shared chassis.
Instead of building a new ontology for every new material class, every new regulation, or every new industrial interface, OntoCrafter integrates three industrial perspectives in the same modular architecture. The material perspective gets the mechanistic depth — seven explanation layers from symmetry to bonding. The compliance perspective gets the regulatory full integration — eleven EU regulatory modules from CSRD to AI Act. The value-chain perspective gets the DPP mechanics — material- and sector-DPP via multiple inheritance, AAS, Catena-X, Manufacturing-X. The four layers (L0–L3) are the shared chassis that keeps these three perspectives consistent.
OntoCrafter is the architecture. OCO v0.94 is the reference implementation — functional ceramics plus 15 EU regulatory modules integrated. Polymers, batteries, metals: waiting for their own L2 modules.
Five perspectives, three views
Which perspective of OCO is relevant for you?
OntoCrafter integrates three industrial views — material, compliance, value chain — through four shared layers (L0–L3). Plus two technical implementation perspectives: LIMS/ELN integration and ontology architecture itself. Five expert perspectives in total, each with its own detail page, persona-specific competency-question selection, and dedicated distribution context. Pick the one that fits your role.
The Architecture
Layers instead of monolith — four layers as chassis, three industrial perspectives as consumers
OntoCrafter integrates three industrial perspectives in the same ontology: materials research, EU compliance, and the value chain (DPP / Manufacturing-X / Catena-X). The four layers (L0–L3) are the architectural mechanism that brings these three perspectives together consistently. Consumers select the perspective that fits their role — and the depth per layer they need.
Four layers as a shared chassis
Categorical rules that cross several layers — “if pyroelectricity, then polar point group”.
325 logical reasoning axioms plus 5,920 reified Neumann constraints (tensor × point group). Opt-in: consumers without a reasoning need don’t pay the OWL 2 DL reasoner cost.
The layer that changes when the material class or the regulatory regime changes. This is where the actual domain knowledge lives.
For ceramics: 230 space groups, Kröger-Vink defect chemistry, Newnham connectivity, 32 coupled effects. For EU compliance: CSRD/ESRS, LCA, Manufacturing-X, CBAM, AI Act, and seven further regulations.
Everything identical across material classes: sample, workflow, equipment, measurement, identifier, provenance, investigation, process.
L1 skeletons of all 44 modules — directly importable into electronic lab notebooks (ELN) and lab information systems (LIMS). Sister projects share this layer unchanged.
The contract with the outside world. We reference existing standards only here.
11 substantial L0 bridge targets (PMDco, QUDT, EMMO, CIF, CHMO, ChEBI, PROV-O, NFDIcore, MADO, OBI, BattINFO) plus 829 explicit cross-ontology mappings across 40 sections. Version changes in external standards stay isolated in this layer.
Three industrial perspectives
Perspective 1 — Materials
Mechanistic depth for materials research
Seven explanation layers from symmetry to bonding turn “why does BNT-BT achieve d33 ≈ 580 pC/N at the MPB?” into a SPARQL query. Neumann engine with 5,920 constraints, phase-state coupling, five external caches (Wyckoff, bond-valence parameters, Shannon ionic radii, Pauling, ~155,000 Materials-Project DFT entries).
Perspective 2 — Compliance
Regulatory full integration
Eleven EU regulatory modules with an explicit regulatory anchor — CSRD/ESRS, LCA (EN 15804+A2), CSDDD, PPWR, CBAM, R2R, AI Act, SSbD, regulated substances, recycling, Manufacturing-X. Structurally integrated into the material model via the audience axis — not parallel to it, not as a reporting annex.
Perspective 3 — Value chain
Material-DPP and sector-DPP together
Multiple inheritance as architecture: a BNT-BT actuator in a battery is simultaneously a material-DPP and a Battery-DPP. AAS IEC 63278, Catena-X CX-0010/CX-0146, BPN identifiers, PACT v2.3.3. oco-supplier as value-chain actor anchor — every CSDDD tier, every Mfgx BPN, every CoA reference routes through it.
Who imports what?
Four consumer profiles, four different import depths — straight from the distribution model in the paper (Table 1):
Like in automotive engineering. The four layers (L0–L3) are the chassis — drivetrain, axles, controls. Identical across all three industrial perspectives. What differs per perspective: the mechanistic depth (materials view), the regulatory completeness (compliance view), the value-chain connection (DPP / Mfgx view). One ontology, three industrial perspectives, four integrating layers — that is what distinguishes the OntoCrafter stack from the textbook model.
Downloads
Four distribution variants — two public, two on request
CC-BY for the L0 bridge, CC-BY-SA for the public L1, proprietary for L2/L3 and all compliance modules. Four bundles plus a content coverage overview on the distribution page.
Engineering services
Custom bridges, custom modules — we build them for you
Two engagement patterns: bridge construction to existing ontologies (PMDco, EMMO, ISO 15926, BattINFO, eCl@ss …) and module development for new material classes (polymers, metals, glass, HTFC) following the ADR-136 framework.
Tools
Two companion tools — built to use OCO in practice
OCO-Workbench (Pannek) as a GUI for data import, process modelling and ABox population. SIPOC-Extractor (Grond) as a pipeline for fragment extraction from publications and patents. Both use OCO as schema, not a fork.
Become part of the architecture validation
Three ways to work with us
Adopt L0+L1 in your consortium, commission module development for your material domain, or critically review the architecture. Direct contact: ontocrafter@numberland.com — typically answered within two business days.
Scientific foundation
The pre-print on the OntoCrafter architecture
Pannek & Grond (2026): “A Layered Architecture for Reusable Materials Ontologies — The OntoCrafter Ceramics Ontology (OCO) as Reference Implementation”. 55 pages, CC-BY 4.0, English · v0.94. Three-axis architecture formally described, OCO reference implementation quantitatively validated.