The program is verified on a model — before the equipment arrives
Virtual commissioning is the real control program against a model of the installation. Logic errors are found at the desk, not at the machine.
Not an animation, but a program check
- The real programThe one that will go to the site, not a simplified copy of it.
- The installation model behaves like the siteProduct, conveyor, axes, sensors — with physics and time.
- Signals — as on siteSensors come into the program through the same input.
- ResultOn site it remains to connect the real sensors and axes.
One copy from the model to the shadow
- Model from the twinThe same twin prints the configuration of the real controller.
- Program against the simulatorTest run in the browser works; physics next to the controller is a subject of the implementation.
- After start-up — the shadowThe same commands go to the equipment and to the model in the simulator; responses are compared and differences are visible at once.
What exactly stands in the loop instead of the plant
Virtual commissioning connects a control program to a plant model. Its variants differ in which of the two sides is real and which is a model.
| Level | Control | Setup | What is checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model in the loop | Logic model | Model | The algorithm’s intent |
| Program in the loop | The real program, executed in software | Model with physics | Logic, sequences, interlocks, handshakes |
| Hardware in the loop | A real controller | A model connected to its inputs and outputs | The same plus the controller’s reaction time and exchange |
SyncTwin works at the second level: the real IEC 61131-3 unit program runs against the simulator, sensors arrive through the same input as real ones. The simulator next to the controller is a subject of the implementation; the test run in the browser works.
What virtual commissioning checks and what it does not
Checks
Step sequence and transition conditions, interlocks, neighbour handshakes, reaction to sensors, behaviour on a jam and an axis fault, phase times from motion.
Does not replace
Axis load and following error — only the drive proves them. The safety circuit is a separate hardware circuit; in the model it is a virtual “safe” input.
Animation is not verification
In an animation the product reaches the sensor when it was drawn there. In the simulator — when it has got there on the rollers by friction.
Forcing is not the simulator
A value put into an input by hand was invented by the author. Verification starts when the input is named by the plant model.
A green run is not hardware
An axis without a drive moves in simulation like a real one; the screen says so on a separate line.
Input data for virtual commissioning
| What | Source |
|---|---|
| Unit model: mechanism, axes, sensor points | The catalogue of kinds, your STEP assembly or mechanism description |
| The real program | Your program in ST or PLCopen XML, or written in the implementation |
| Channels with roles | Which input knows what, which output does what |
| Body parameters | Masses, friction, speeds — from your datasheets; typical numbers are marked |
| Target figures | Implementation specification |
Who gets what from the method
PLC programmer
Debugs logic at the desk, on the same signals as on site.
Commissioning engineer
Comes to bind sensors and axes, not to look for logic errors at the machine.
Project manager
Sees the logic is ready before the equipment arrives.
Customer
Sees the unit working before buying, and after start-up — the line by the facts.
Five steps from the twin to the site
- Unit twinMechanism, axes with roles, sensor points, drive profiles.
- ProgramSFC or ST; compiler and a lab with forcing.
- SimulatorProgram against the plant model; sensors through the same input.
- Test benchVirtual axes, then drives: motion, following, load.
- ObjectBind the real sensors and axes; then the line also runs in the simulator — the shadow.
In detail — “Virtual commissioning”.
Questions about the method
How is this different from debugging on a test bench with hardware?
A test bench with hardware is needed for axis load and following. Logic, sequences and reaction to sensors are checked by virtual commissioning earlier — when there is no hardware yet or it is busy.
Does the program need writing twice — for the model and for the site?
No. The same program that goes to site is verified; the plant model and the controller configuration are built from one twin.
How much time does it save?
Your target figures are fixed in the implementation specification and verified in tests. Vendor references are given below with sources.
Where does the plant model run?
The simulator is computed next to the controller, inside the enterprise perimeter; the browser shows and starts the test. The line data stays with you.
What if there is no unit model?
The unit is assembled from the catalogue of kinds or from your STEP assembly; typical numbers are marked until your equipment datasheets replace them.
Vendor benchmark
«reduce onsite virtual commissioning time by 30 percent and overall costs by 20 percent»
«Emulate3D software cuts install and commission time by up to 50%»
Vendor data, not our measurement. Our own indicators are fixed in the implementation specification.
Discuss an implementation
Tell us which unit or line and which logic — we will check it on a model before the equipment arrives within an R&D stage.
Request accessDiscuss an implementation
Describe the unit or line — we will tell you what we will verify and in what time. Target indicators are fixed in the implementation specification.
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