Initial situation

MAN Energy Solutions has been using the Innoface solution as part of their routine model and drawing approval since 2013:

• Transfer of converted CAD data to SAP; use of the ReleaseEngine for converting drawings for storage in SAP; the JT format is used for 3D models.
• Transfer of status information from SAP to Windchill.
• Motor configuration based on SAP (PLM) dependency information at the main assemblies’ level. However, the main assemblies were stored as Creo native models in Windchill.

Vision Digital Mockup (DMU):

• Merging the geometry and the positioning information with reference to the configuration knowledge in SAP.
  
• Thus the ability to visualize a complete mockup of a 3D-model of a certain motor configuration, e.g., for customer motors. In addition to allow collision control investigations for configured motors.

Customer requirements

General requirements:

• To provide a daily updated digital mock-up for visualization and collision control from an SAP PSM (product structure manager) configuration.

The following requirements had to be met by the respective project partners:

SAP team:

• Ability to maintain the position information in the PSM structure
• Ability to create structure JT information
• Ability to visualize CAD data in VDS format by converting JT files into VDS format
• Ability to export structure JTs

Innoface:

• Provision of the monolithic JTs of the CAD assemblies from Windchill
• Daily conversion of the main modules:
• for series engines: last released version
• for engines in development: last checked-in status.
• Because not all assemblies can be converted every day: intelligent detection of changes and conversions of any changed main modules.

Implementation

SAP:

• Extensions for maintenance and storage of geom. position information in the PSM structure.
• Creation of structure JTs (AJT files with structure information, position information and references to the geometry JJTs) from the PSM structure and the position information.

Innoface:

• In SAP it is defined which CAD assemblies are relevant for SAP DMUs. Transfer this information from SAP to Windchill.
• An algorithm in Windchill is used to determine whether assemblies or their components have been changed. As soon as a change has been made, the main assembly is marked accordingly for DMU generation.
• An Innoface-job in Windchill tracks the changes to such a DMU-relevant assembly or components within the assembly (example BSP: release of a component within a "Series" assembly). When a change is detected, a job on the ReleaseEngine is initiated and creates the relevant JTs and transfers the information to PSM.
  =>Conversion of the assembly to the JT format for transfer to SAP
• In the later expansion stage (DMU 2.0 follow-up project), in addition to the JT conversion, intelligent shrinkwrap models with additional information such as mass, gravity points,inertia tensors, etc. were created and checked in to Windchill (additional tool from B&W Software is used).
• Transfer of information is provided by ReleaseEngine.

Customer benefits

It is now possible to visualize a motor that has been configured based on an PSM structure within SAP and to perform collision control investigations.

Follow-up project DMU 2.0:

• Calculation of weight, center of gravity data, inertia tensors even without opening the native CAD model for a PSM configuration. This allows a predictive sizing of storage space and an optimized dispatch planning.
• The In-house developed solution for the transfer of status information from the PSM to Windchill and consequently the creation of lightweight Shrinkwrap models in Windchill also with weight information and inertia tensors enormously accelerates the design of installation drawings & further benefits such as the availability of 3D models for customers/plant planning.