Siemens, Bausch+Ströbel, Bosch Rexroth, Cadenas, Festo, Harting, Sick, Phoenix Contact and Wago joined forces at Hannover Messe 2023 to demonstrate how the asset administration shell can be implemented in practice: The companies exchanged digital twin data in accordance with the standard defined by the asset administration shell and evaluated the added value based on a specific use case at machine and plant manufacturer Bausch+Ströbel. The nine partners thus made the interoperable digital twin based on the asset administration shell from the component manufacturer to the customer possible for the first time, according to their own statements.

The standard defined by the asset administration shell is manufacturer-independent and industry-neutral and is largely driven by the Industrial Digital Twin Association (IDTA). This allows all information and functions of a specific asset to be documented, described and, above all, shared. In the area of Industry 4.0, it enables the digital representation of a product or machine, for example, on the basis of a standardized data language and standardized data access. This is crucial for the efficient exchange of digital twin data between companies that usually work with proprietary formats and heterogeneous systems and IT landscapes. For customers, this means that the engineering process is accelerated and simplified, as data becomes more open and easier to exchange and connects the physical and digital worlds.

Specific use case

At the Hannover Messe, the partners jointly demonstrated how this can work using a labeling machine from Bausch+Ströbel. By providing the participating component manufacturers with standardized data via the asset administration shell, Bausch+Ströbel can create a digital twin of the machine more quickly and efficiently, saving a huge amount of engineering time and therefore costs. "Modifying, searching and completing the data is no longer necessary and we can start directly with the value-adding activities," says Erich Bauer, Vice President Research & Development at Bausch+Ströbel. "In addition, the data is of a higher quality due to the standard of the asset administration shell, as there is no need to reformat data, for example."

Siemens supported this use case with the help of software solutions from the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio. The component manufacturers were able to provide prototype digital twin data in the form of an asset administration shell via the Teamcenter software for Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and then import prototype asset administration shells via the engineering tools NX Mechatronics Concept Designer, TIA Portal and SIMIT. Each of the component manufacturers involved provided a digital twin of the respective component, such as sensors, connectors or cylinders, in the form of an asset administration shell. The partners then jointly evaluated the added value of the asset administration shell based on the specific use case at Bausch+Ströbel.