"In future, nobody will have to spend days calculating cycle times or weeks commissioning handling solutions," says Henrik A. Schunk, CEO of the Lauffen/Neckar-based company of the same name. Schunk has put together an entry-level package consisting of the Mechatronics Concept Designer from Siemens PLM Software, a component library of digital twins from Schunk and corresponding support for their use. The tool can be fully integrated into Siemens NX. Designers, programmers and project planners can test the full version of the simulation software free of charge for six months. Licenses for the Mechatronics Concept Designer can now also be purchased from Schunk independently of the starter package.

By creating its 24V mechatronics program for high-performance assembly as digital twins, Schunk can simulate simple assembly systems even without extensive software knowledge.

© Schunk

The component library included in the starter package initially contains the EGP parallel grippers, the ELP linear modules, the EGS gripper swivel modules and the ERS rotary modules from Schunk. In the medium term, all of the company's gripping system and clamping technology components will be available as digital twins. The digital twins contain the CAD solid model with all geometric data for modeling in Siemens NX, CAE data (Eplan), a kinematic behavior model and a physical model in which the stroke, the extension and retraction speed, the acceleration, the jerk, the nominal force and the mass are stored. There are also PLC function blocks for virtual commissioning to simplify the software and hardware in the loop (SiL/HiL) scenarios.

In addition to a process sequence, the software also provides a Gantt diagram in which all phases and dependencies are displayed. Even during the planning phase, it is possible to identify where sequential movements are necessary or parallel movements are possible. The behavior of the virtual model can be tested on real controllers such as Siemens Simatic S7 or Beckhoff via automation interfaces. To ensure maximum design freedom, component libraries from other manufacturers can already be integrated during the free test phase.