Digital twin for collaborative configuration of machines and plants In the DigiKonfigTwin project, a system including methods and tools is being developed with the help of which plant/machine configurations can be evaluated/selected in cooperation between supplier and customer on the basis of a digital twin. The project addresses the challenges in mechanical and plant engineering to design complex products cost- & time-efficiently. The system is applied exemplarily to a use case of Rose and Krieger and the added value and transferability to other companies is shown in the form of a demonstrator.

Increasing digitization as a prominent change driver is having a strong influence on machine and plant engineering. Systems are increasingly being enriched by functionality, resulting in a sharp rise in the complexity of products. Particularly in special machine construction, companies are facing major challenges here in making this complexity manageable.

Another challenge is posed by the increasingly demanding market.

Customers of RK Rose+Krieger must be able to efficiently evaluate different solutions and evaluate the interacting interaction with their own components. Currently, RK Rose+Krieger's customers make use of the CAD component library CADENAS, which provides CAD data of all components via download. The models can then be loaded in the respective tools of the customers in order to be able to carry out a constructive piloting of the plant. Apart from the spatial integration, no functional analysis of the combination takes place.

A functional suitability of the components must be analyzed independently by the respective designer with the help of data from technical data sheets or other sources of information.

This process is time-consuming, which is hardly manageable given the large number of possible solution elements. As a result, the solution evaluation step is greatly slowed down, which can lead to a delay of entire projects.

This reduces customer satisfaction and causes a higher stress load in the planning phase for design staff.

Errors that occur in this phase are later associated with a high level of effort and thus with high troubleshooting costs.

The overall objective of the project a systematics for the introduction and establishment of a Digital Twin for the configuration of machines and plants in close cooperation between RK Rose+Krieger and its customers.

As a fundamental part of the systematics, the existing development process, the product portfolio as well as the IT tools used at RK Rose+Krieger are to be recorded first.

Further, the initial situation is to be analyzed and potentials and use cases as well as associated requirements for the digital twin, its architecture and its elements are to be developed and documented.

Based on this, RK Rose+Krieger is to be enabled to establish a digital twin that links its own internal processes with those of its customers and the tools used in each case and generates a high level of customer benefit.

In addition, the system is to be applied using the multi-axis modular system for linear technology at RK Rose+Krieger as an example, prepared in the form of a demonstrator and presented in a practical manner.