Bridging the Gap Between Product and Simulation Data Management

The Digital Twin idea in manufacturing engineering / Model Based Design (MBD) promises smooth interaction between the variety of domains involved in the product development process as well as clear traceability of decisions. To continue the Digital Twin throughout the exchange between the different software landscapes of manufacturers and [Zulieferer], data standards are used for exchange. While existing standards in Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer
Aided Engineering (CAE) allow for smooth transfer of data within the two domains, simulation remains decoupled from the CAD-centred development process. The thesis researched the industrial situations in the parts of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) which are concerned with the two domains to form the basis for further development in industries. For this, exploratory, semi-structured expert interviews were conducted in an industry survey. The results were used to update the perspective on the industrial situations and workflows. Although some attempts for a connection exist, they are presently not well established in industry. The main obstacles for cross-domain standardisation are the differences on several layers: 1. Data discretisation, 2. Demands for processing and storage, 3. Metadata, 4. Management and workflow structures, 5. Software feasibility and usage. Additional issues faced by standardisation, engineering, and management vary across and within industry groups. The result is a unidirectional data transfer from CAD to CAE, with only non-machine-interpretable 3rd level results being sent back to CAD. Existing commercial solutions are customised, expensive, and not used to their full potential.
Therefore, workaround solutions, self-written codes, and Excel-spreadsheets prevail in places, where appropriate standardisation might bring the two domains closer together, and slim down as well as speed up industrial workflows. These results imply, that a connection of the domains may be better approached by standardising and integrating the workflow structures, rather than the model representations.