From Design to Execution: efficient production from a single source

Production times are becoming increasingly important in industry

Whoever wants to manufacture more productively, efficiently and flexibly tomorrow, needs solutions today. The key differentiator is the systematic interplay of all product development and production phases: the seamless integration of all design, planning, engineering, execution and services tasks – including the resulting data consistency across the entire value chain.

This year once again, Siemens is focusing on the seamless integration of digital and real production at SPS IPC Drives 2014 in Nuremberg. Using the product development and production of a Sirius conductor as an example, Siemens – this year in Hall 11 – is presenting a holistic approach which covers the whole value chain.

Design

Virtually developing, testing and improving products – this is what Siemens customers worldwide use Product Lifecycle Management Software (PLM software) for. The integrated software solution NX™ for Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) offers a good example. With NX, products such as the SIRIUS conductor in our showcase can be digitally constructed, simulated and assembled over the entire assembly line as a prototype.

Planning

Industry software from Siemens also offers tremendous added value for production planning. It lays the foundation for a successful production – through comprehensive simulation and optimization on the computer display. It not only provides time and cost reductions during commissioning, but also the assurance of an efficient and productive operation right from the start. Our Tecnomatix software solution opens up entirely new production planning prospects. Through the visualization of the virtual blueprint, virtual planning, production simulation and virtual commissioning, production processes can be designed to achieve higher product quality and shorter times to market.

Engineering

Totally Integrated Automation stands for the perfect interplay of all automation components and for highest engineering efficiency. The key for optimizing performance with Totally Integrated Automation is the TIA Portal. It integrates all automation software and hardware within a single engineering environment, resulting in highly efficient engineering with time savings of up to 30%. The programming of controllers and components for operator control and monitoring is integrated within the environment, as is the configuration of drives, networks as well as standard and fail-safe components. Fail-safe applications can also be implemented within the engineering environment with the help of the TIA Portal.

Execution

From the virtual production of the Sirius conductors, an actual product is then made in the execution phase. It includes drive belts, grippers, swivel units, Pick&Place units, etc. The automation of these mechanical elements is handled by: drives of the Sinamics series, Sitoppower supply, Sirius switching and protection devices, the ET 200SP distributed periphery as well as the new Simatic S7-1500 controller, which plays a key role. Its outstanding system performance stands for extremely short reaction times and high-level control precision. Combined with Profinet, the highly functional, open bus system, the Simatic S7-1500 sets new standards in terms of performance. Simatic S7-1500 used in combination with HMI panels also supports an integrated control concept, thereby enabling mutually consistent data management.

Services

The hidden potential of continuously growing amounts of industrial production data is enormous – yet has largely gone unused thus far. Plant Data Services from Siemens enable you to intelligently leverage this potential. By continuously capturing, filtering, structuring and analyzing relevant data from various sources in real time. The automation of machines and plants with Totally Integrated Automation (TIA) creates an ideal platform for capturing production data. With data-centered services such as Asset Analytics or Energy Analytics, experienced data experts translate the data into concrete recommendations for action and, consequently, into specific added value for you. As a result, not only the overall plant effectiveness can be increased, but also the energy efficiency of machines and systems.