Distributed Simulation Models With Unified 3D Digital Twin View
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional engineering workflows for designing industrial automation systems require separate tools for mechanical and control engineering, leading to synchronization issues and the need for separate simulation models, which complicates the testing and commissioning process.
Innovation Solution
An integrated CAD system that allows users to label mechanical CAD models with aspect metadata, transforming them into simulation-capable digital twins that can be exported for virtual commissioning and testing, enabling unified simulation and synchronization of mechanical and control designs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate simulation models are used for mechanical and control engineering, then each domain can be simulated independently, but the complexity of the overall system increases and synchronization becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges mechanical and control simulation models into a unified digital twin framework. The system integrates multiple model portions representing different domains (mechanical, control, electrical) into a single coherent simulation environment, eliminating the need for separate simulation tools and improving synchronization between domains.
Solution Approach 2:
The digital twin system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as a mechanical model, control model, electrical model, and test bench all in one unified platform. This multi-functional approach allows the same system to perform various simulation and testing tasks without requiring separate specialized tools for each function.
2Manufacturing precision
If separate tools are used for mechanical and control engineering, then each tool can be optimized for its specific domain, but the workflow becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system combines mechanical, control, and electrical engineering tools into a single integrated development environment. Engineers can work on all aspects of the automation system within one unified platform, eliminating the need to switch between multiple separate tools and reducing the time required for system integration and testing.
Solution Approach 2:
The digital twin enables preliminary virtual commissioning and testing before physical system deployment. By performing simulations and validation in the virtual environment first, potential issues can be identified and resolved early in the design phase, reducing rework time and accelerating the overall development process.
3Reliability
If multiple separate simulation models are maintained, then each model can be independently validated, but the synchronization and integration of these models becomes increasingly difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple independent simulation models into a unified digital twin that maintains the integrity of each domain while ensuring automatic synchronization. The system uses a centralized architecture where mechanical, control, and electrical models are integrated and coordinated through a common time base and data exchange mechanism, eliminating synchronization issues inherent in separate tools.
Data Source
AI summary
A design and testing simulation scales an industrial simulation across multiple different processing nodes, and generates a unified view of the distributed industrial simulation based on simulation and graphics data collected from the multiple processing nodes. The system can allow the user to designate different portions of the a digital model of an automation system to be executed on respective different distributed processing nodes, such that each portion of the model is executed on its designated node and the nodes exchange data as necessary to simulate the aggregate automation system as a whole. In order to visualize this aggregated simulation, the design and testing system unifies the distributed portions of the model into a unified three-dimensional presentation at a single node, and this unified view is animated based on data received from the nodes on which the distributed simulation is executed.