Balluff delivers digital product information to support virtual commissioning
24 September 2020
Balluff has set itself the goal of providing its customers with all relevant product information in a digital form.
In a first step, the digital product data for Balluff sensors in the Electronic Product Catalogue powered by CADENAS have been enriched with IO device descriptions (IODD), CAE data in EPLAN format and rendering information, as well as the operating manuals in English and German. In addition, the information in Automation Markup Language (AML) files is available for free download, thus taking the company an important step towards the digital twin. "For us, as a sensor manufacturer, it is our goal to provide all information relevant for the customer (AutomationML user) in digital form. The AutomationML format is the means of choice for this. As an industry-wide standard, it can represent the digital twin of a product throughout its entire life cycle. The inclusion of IODD, operating instructions and EPLAN data is a first step. However, continuous expansion is planned in order to achieve the above-mentioned goal," says Balluff team leader (Head of Digital Information Management) Florian Kröner.
IODD data from Balluff available for the first time in AutomationML exchange format
In order to enable the use of Balluff products in production automation and virtual commissioning, IODD (IO device description) information on Balluff components has been integrated in the product catalogue and in the exchange format AutomationML, in close cooperation with CADENAS. This means that engineers, designers and electrical engineers can now access additional information from the Balluff sensors on identification, device parameters, process and diagnostic data, communication properties and the structure of the user interface in engineering tools for their product development at http://balluff.partcommunity.com.
Balluff is the first CADENAS customer with integrated IO device descriptions. "Our long-standing customer Balluff has given the starting signal for the digital twin by enriching its products with important component information, such as IODD, CAE and EPLAN data. In this way, Balluff offers its customers not only first-class components, but also first-class digital implementation," emphasises Jürgen Heimbach, Managing Director of CADENAS GmbH.
EPLAN data from Balluff sensors enable automation in electrical engineering
In addition to the new IO device descriptions, Balluff has also included EPLAN data (eCAD Data) in its electronic product catalogue and AML files, thus responding to the growing customer demand for electrical engineering component information. This includes sensor data such as function tables, schematic representations as ready-to-use macros, technical product information, product images, as well as links to technical data sheets and the Balluff website. "The cooperation with CADENAS as CAE data producer and data manager brings us excellent data quality and successful data publishing on several web-based platforms. Well thought-out processes enable our customers to receive CAE data usually within 24 hours of the request," says Anatol Kligermann, Digital Sales, Balluff GmbH.
Digital twins also available optically by rendering Balluff sensors
Based on the comprehensive 3D engineering data of the sensors, digital images of Balluff products can be produced quickly and easily by rendering directly from the Electronic Product Catalogue – another decisive step towards digitisation and digital twin. The razor-sharp rendered images are made possible by an interface from the Electronic Product Catalogue to the Maxwell Renderer software. Just like in a professional photo studio, light sources can be defined and placed as desired. Product images, based on a digital twin, thus save both material and working time. In addition, the high costs for a professional photographer are eliminated and further possibilities of use for the already existing images are opened up, which leads to savings of several thousand Euros in total.
One data flow – many applications
Balluff uses its Product Information Management System as a central data source for the creation processes; this enables all types of data to be made available quickly and easily and helps to cover data updates for the product catalogue with a data export. The data is thus consistent and can be updated quickly. This process saves a lot of time, minimises errors and is easily scalable for a wide variety of use cases.
Balluff's Electronic Product Catalogue serves as a central platform for managing all product information: Designers, engineers and electrical engineers have three different ways to obtain Balluff product data (Balluff website, product catalogue based on CADENAS technology and EPLAN Portal). The AML files are to play a central role here, so that customers really do get all the digitised product data at the click of a mouse. In close cooperation, Balluff plans to provide further product data, such as data sheets, simulation data etc. in AML format as well as data from sensors in ZUKEN E3.series format in the near future.
The Balluff Electronic Product Catalogue with free CAD, CAE, IODD and rendering product information is available at: http://balluff.partcommunity.com
You can find more information about Balluff at: www.balluff.com
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