MEASUREMENT & INSPECTION
Visual Components, another independent digital manu-
facturing simulation firm, emphasizes 3D simulations with reusable simulation components. “We like to call it predictive manufacturing,” Visual
Components North America CEO Robert Axtman said. “We can predict equipment, the throughput, cycle times and cost of the whole manufacturing process regardless of product, geography or industry.”
Paper sketches still in play Engineers still today often analyze manufacturing
systems with rough sketches on paper and data linked in Excel spreadsheets, he said. Visual Components’ technical approach includes dis-
crete event or material flow with robotics motion, including off-line programming (OLP), resource and process plan- ning and PLC validation all in one product, Axtman said. “Of course, others can do the same thing, but instead of a modular approach where you need to incorporate a num- ber of products to do that, we do it all in one.” When asked about who uses these simulations, he
agreed with others that his company’s “typical user” defies easy categorization. The users range from mom-and-pop job shops up to automotive OEMs. But they all need the same thing—to quickly and easily build a simulation model. Recognizing this, Visual Components, like others, cre-
ated an extensive library of pre-built and validated manu- facturing components, especially in robotics. “We have over 1900 different components, including 1200
robots, in our library—from all of the major providers, includ- ing grippers and fixtures. We put new ones in as they are offered,” Axtman said, noting that all are part of the standard license. “It is not something you have to pay extra for.” External data, such as CAD files or PLC interfaces in all
popular formats, can be imported, as well as performance data from MES or PLM systems. “Our software is easy to customize and easy to use.
Everyone from manufacturing engineers to front-line sales can build and present manufacturing layouts,” he said. New components can be added that might be unique to each customer through an API.
Sales teams, business managers helped Axtman also stressed that manufacturing simulations
go beyond helping manufacturing alone. Sales and market- ing professionals, business managers and companies large and small would find value in an easy-to-use digital manu- facturing solution.
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The Tecnomatix brand of digital manufacturing soft-
ware has found itself in a unique position, compared with its beginnings as a tool to help manufacturers set up ro- bots with OLP in the mid-1980s. After a series of acquisitions, it is now part of Siemens’
product life-cycle management (PLM) software business. “This means our group has responsibility for a broad range of products, some that are included in Tecnomatix, others that are included in the Teamcenter PLM software portfo- lio, such as manufacturing planning,” said Mike Rouman, senior marketing manager for Siemens PLM Software. Siemens PLM’s discrete event simulation tool under
the Tecnomatix portfolio is called Plant Simulation. Like other solutions, it uses statistics and flow charts to create a “whole plant simulation.” Plant Simulation uses an object- oriented architecture and modeling capabilities, including advanced control mechanisms, the company said. The interface is modeled on Microsoft Windows stan-
dards to make it easy to use and understand. Tools for automatic optimization and 3D visualization of simulation models are also available. Most customers use a mixture of 2D and 3D simula- tions, typically on their desktop, Rouman said. “It does not require a lot of computing resources and takes a matter of minutes to build a plant simulation, using drag and drop to place objects that will give you some meaningful results.”
Many uses possible Tecnomatix can be used for not only discrete event
simulation but also simulating both subtractive and addi- tive manufacturing environments. “For example, we can simulate workcells or workstations
using a cyclic event evaluator,” he said. Instead of estimating when an event is triggered in a time-stream, the engineer can specify an event that triggers the required action, pro- viding a more accurate simulation. “If I want to simulate and see my virtual robot cell operating as a function of a signal that is coming from a controller, say a PLC, and I want to check back that it works correctly, I have to simulate based on events,” he said. “We can use data from these types of simulations, as well as data collected from actual operations, to feed ever more realistic plant simulations.” Source data can come from IIoT, MES or PLM inputs like Teamcenter, he, like others, noted.
Video games create new expectations Siemens will in the future address the continuing challeng- es of reducing the level of effort needed to get a good result.
March 2017
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