Mechanical CAD Digital Twin with Aspect-Based Simulation Metadata
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional engineering workflows for designing industrial automation systems require separate design tools for mechanical and controls engineering, leading to difficulties in maintaining synchronization between mechanical and control designs, and necessitating the separate development of simulation-capable models.
Innovation Solution
An industrial CAD system that integrates mechanical and control domains, allowing users to label selected elements of a mechanical CAD model with aspects, which assigns aspect metadata defining simulation behaviors, transforming the model into a simulation-capable digital twin.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate design tools are used for mechanical and controls engineering, then each domain can be designed independently, but synchronization between mechanical and control designs becomes difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges mechanical and controls engineering into a single integrated CAD system. The system allows users to create mechanical models and annotate them with control aspects (sensors, actuators, control elements) within the same environment, eliminating the need for separate tools and automatically maintaining synchronization between mechanical and control designs through a unified data model.
Solution Approach 2:
The CAD system is designed to perform multiple functions: mechanical modeling, control aspect annotation, simulation setup, and digital twin creation. This multi-functional platform replaces multiple specialized tools while maintaining the ability to handle both mechanical and control engineering tasks within a single system.
2Adaptability or versatility
If separate development of simulation-capable models is required, then mechanical and control simulations can be developed independently, but the development workflow becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by automatically generating simulation-capable digital twins during the mechanical design phase. Control aspects are annotated on mechanical models, and the system pre-configures the simulation model with necessary control elements, sensors, and actuators, eliminating the need for separate simulation model development later in the process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines mechanical modeling and simulation model creation into a single workflow. The mechanical CAD model is directly transformed into a simulation-capable digital twin by adding control aspects, merging what were previously separate development processes into one integrated operation that reduces complexity and development time.
3Reliability
If mechanical models are transformed into simulation-capable digital twins with control aspects, then synchronization and virtual commissioning are facilitated, but the complexity of the modeling process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service by automatically generating the simulation model and digital twin from the mechanical CAD model. When users annotate mechanical models with control aspects, the system automatically creates the corresponding simulation model with control elements, sensors, and actuators configured, reducing the manual effort and complexity of the modeling process while maintaining high reliability.
Data Source
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AI summary
An industrial CAD system is supplemented with features that allow a developer to easily convert a mechanical CAD model of an automation system to a dynamic digital twin capable of simulation within a simulation platform. The features allow the user to label selected elements of a mechanical CAD drawing with "aspects" within the CAD environment. These aspect markups label the selected mechanical elements as being specific types of industrial assets or control elements. Based on these markups, the CAD platform associates mechatronic metadata with the selected elements based on the type of aspect with which each element is labeled. This mechatronic metadata defines the behavior (e.g., movements, speeds, forces, etc.) of the selected element within the context of a virtual simulation, transforming the mechanical CAD model into a dynamic digital twin that can be exported to a simulation and testing platform.