Planning Process of A Machine Virtual Role-Playing With the Digital Twin

Related Vendors

SEW-EURODRIVE GmbH & Co KG

FAULHABER Drive Systems

Wuxi InfiMotion Technology Co., Ltd.

From the first customer meeting through project planning to operation: With a digital twin, the drive manufacturer can support the mechanical and plant engineer in various ways.

The basic idea of virtual commissioning is to test a production plant even while the real machine is still being set up. This allows errors to be avoided in an early stage of the planning process and reduces the project duration. However, virtual commissioning is only one possible application of a digital model: digital twins offer advantages for all parties involved in the planning process.

Support in Development

The physical simulation of the machine supports the designer and programmer in optimizing the movement sequence. The movement is calculated in millisecond cycles and deterministically executed at the same intervals. The calculated positions are transferred to the 3D model, making the movement visible. This clearly indicates where the mechanics still need optimization and which parameters in the program may need to be adjusted.

For this simulation, the process data is transmitted from a test PC via the fieldbus to the UHX65A controller from SEW-Eurodrive, processed in the Movikit software modules, and converted into position data. Since the drive electronics are not yet connected, the Movikits operate in simulation mode. During this process, the controller simulates the movement as if real drive hardware were connected and sends the virtual position data to the software on the PC, guiding the three-dimensional model in direction and path.

Help With Project Planning...

A digital model also supports the selection process of the drives. Various motor-gearbox combinations can be explored to determine the optimal solution, whether a highly dynamic servo motor, water cooling, or a combination with higher mass inertia should be used. This also includes the question of whether to provide an intermediate circuit connection.

The planning and project planning tool Workbench is available for free download on the SEW homepage. It features a file import function for simulation data. Torque, acceleration, speed, and distance are displayed in diagrams and contribute to drive design. For the energy design, such as the use of energy storage in the intermediate circuit, further options are available. SEW-Eurodrive provides support in optimizing this design. To check if the drives fit into the machine, CAD models of all motors, gear units, and electronic components can be generated in the Online Support and downloaded in various 3D and 2D formats.

... And With Programming

The PLC programmer is interested in whether the process flow and movements work: Do the data arrive as expected, is the timing correct? To this end, he wants to observe the control sequence in the source code while having insight into the motion functions. Movikit software modules allow incoming and outgoing fieldbus data to be displayed via a graphical interface. This makes it easy to verify if everything is implemented correctly, even in simulation mode. Therefore, the PLC program can be completed and tested at the desk before being loaded into the drive electronics. Even the simulated robot arm can be conveniently controlled with the Robot Monitor on the control unit or PC, allowing for precise movement verification. Since all tests occur in a fully simulated environment, there's no risk of damaging physical devices due to errors in the control software during commissioning.

Simplified Training

Future machine operators can practice setting up and operating the plant together with the developers of the user interface. For this purpose, the machine is equipped with touch displays, for example, connected to the control unit via an Ethernet cable. The arrangement of information and buttons on the displays matches exactly the later arrangement on the plant; even the screen diagonal is identical. After a short time, the team is ready for action and has a precise understanding of how the machine will respond to inputs and what measures to take in case of an error. The entire training can take place completely without a real machine.

Presentation to the customer

In customer presentations, the three-dimensional, animated representation of a machine provides a concrete idea of where the raw material is fed, how the tool is designed, and where the processed product is packaged and finally conveyed out. Further zooming into the model enhances the understanding of the matter. The entire plant is set up in virtual space. Only CAD data of the individual components is required for this. The necessary 3D data for drive and control technology is available in various formats in the online support of the SEW website.

Model Based Monitoring

A process technician wants to ensure that his assumptions about the machine and the process are correct before live operation. To do this, he has created a detailed model of reality in his simulation program. It processes the incoming process data and behaves as the process would with the corresponding parameters. By comparing the real operating data with the previously calculated data in the digital model, known as model-based monitoring, operational errors can be detected early. This reduces the number of defective parts. An increased energy demand, for instance, due to machine wear, can also be easily detected.

High-Performance Controls

An important requirement is that the process must not be disrupted. The UHX65A and UHX86A controllers from SEW-Eurodrive are sufficiently powerful to run two operating systems in parallel. This allows the program code for process and motion control to run on a real-time operating system, while the model is executed on a Windows operating system. The control data is processed, compared, and stored on an external data storage over the network.

Because many processes run in parallel through the simulation, the development of the machine can be significantly shortened. Standardized interfaces, simulation modes, and practical user interfaces enable users to perform many tasks without the hardware of electromechanics. The hypervisor concept of the new UHX86A and UHX65A controller generation opens up further application possibilities, even during machine operation. The 3D simulation can be run independently on the Windows operating system, allowing for comparison with the real, operational machine. True physics simulations with the digital twin are possible without needing to introduce additional hardware into the machine.

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