In a best practice, component supplier Sick has provided a digital image of one of its safety switching devices via the TwinStore platform. The advantage for Sick's customers: engineering accelerated by data.
Virtual commissioning (VC) refers to the overall test of the automation system upstream of the real commissioning using a simulation model of the plant. The simulation model (digital twin) consists of virtual components and assemblies that map the real systems with their interfaces and parameters. The digital twins of the components and assemblies used contain the behavioral characteristics of the real systems that are essential for a VC. The component behavior is simulated in such a way that there is no difference to the real behavior on the fieldbus. Thus, in a hardware-in-the-loop simulation (HILS), the real control hardware is put into operation via the industrial real-time fieldbus. The goal of VC is to accelerate development processes and commissioning, increase quality and reduce commissioning costs.