Methodology for Validating Mechatronic Digital Twin

Abstract

The market place is changing rapidly along with the increasing requirements of the clients. To meet up these challenges, there is need for new and efficient methods for the identification and visualization of the problem. Additionally, these methods should allow users in designing and finding alternative solutions to achieve the desired working. In this thesis, studies related to mechatronic model was performed and an approach was presented for the validation of mechatronic digital twin. The concept of digital twin is one of the core concepts of modern industrial revolution. Digital twin can be defined as the digital representation of a physical system, which behaves exactly as actual hardware.

A mechatronic digital twin of Festo MPS 500 system was modeled using Siemens NX Mechatronics Concept Designer. The methodology was implemented which involved storing the process parameters of the operation of actual hardware. The stored information was passed to the mechatronic model for verification and validation purpose. Several engineering tools were used for the implementation of the system. These tools were integrated with each other to provide the proof of concept of the methodology. The developed approach can be used with the mechatronic models of existing systems.

This enables the user to test and observe different scenarios and alternative solutions in the mechatronic model before implementing it to actual hardware. The proposed methodology can be used for the troubleshooting purpose by re-playing the stored data of the operation of actual hardware in the mechatronic model. By this way, user can visualize the whole operation and identify the problem easily.