Industrie 4.0 -the "brand" name of the German initiative driving the future of manufacturingis one of several initiatives around the globe emphasizing the importance of industrial manufacturing for economy and society. Besides the socio-economical if not political question which has to be answeredincluding the question about the future of labor -there are a couple of substantial technical and technological questions that have to be taken care of as well.
The vision of the Digital Twin itself refers to a comprehensive physical and functional description of a component, product or system, which includes more or less all information which could be useful in all-the current and subsequentlifecycle phases. In this chapter we focus on the simulation aspects of the Digital Twin. Today, modelling and simulation is a standard process in system development, e.g. to support design tasks or to validate system properties. During operation and for service first simulation-based solutions are realized for optimized operations and failure prediction. In this sense, simulation merges the physical and virtual world in all life cycle phases. Current practice already enables the users (designer, SW/HW developers, test engineers, operators, maintenance personnel, etc) to master the complexity of mechatronic systems.Nevertheless, the technical challenges are further increasing. Software and especially network connectivity extend the functionality of mechatronic systems. As the traditional mechatronic disciplines (mechanics, electric and electronics) are realized in a more integrated way, their interfaces will be more intertwined. To design these systems and to validate properties by virtual tests in early phases as well as operation and service support multi-domain and multi-level simulation approaches are necessary. These approaches must be embedded in the system engineering and development process and reused in all following lifecycle phases.In the two dimensions of time and level of detail a seamless Digital Twin is required, which focuses on the following points:• Reducing time-to-market is today, and will remain so into the future, a key aspect. The intertwining of simulation models over different levels of detail, over all involved disciplines and over lifecycle phases must be enforced.
Der seit einigen Jahren vielfältig verwendete Begriff Digital Twin beinhaltet nach wie vor visionäre Aspekte. Deren Berücksichtigung wird zur Entwicklung einer nächsten Generation digitaler Zwillinge führen. In der in diesem Beitrag beschriebenen Vision werden die Lebenszyklus-übergreifenden Perspektiven vorgestellt und anhand von zwei Beispielen diskutiert. Neben seinem Einsatz in der Entwicklung wird der digitale Zwilling als Abbild des realen Systems im Betrieb und Service zunehmend neue simulationsbasierte Lösungen ermöglichen. Die Lebenszyklus-übergreifende Perspektive gepaart mit der Veränderung der Wertschöpfungsketten wird zu einem Digital-Twin-Ökosystem führen.
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