Siemens to present digital enterprise solutions at Hannover

At the Hannover Messe 2018, Siemens will be showcasing a comprehensive series of examples which demonstrate how users can harness the potential of Industrie 4.0 by implementing digital enterprise solutions.

The focus will be on industry-specific implementation of digital enterprise solutions over the whole life cycle.

Examples from aerospace, automotive, food and beverage, electronics and machine building as well as the chemical, fiber and oil and gas industries illustrate how companies of any size and from any industry can increase their competitiveness with individual digital solutions – through greater flexibility, efficiency and quality as well as shorter times to market.

MindSphere Version 3, concrete use cases and references from Siemens and partners such as OEMs as well as the new global user organization MindSphere World will all be presented in the MindSphere Lounge.

Siemens will also be demonstrating how producers can already benefit now from industrialized additive manufacturing, and showcasing Sidrive IQ, the new digital platform for the MindSphere-based evaluation of drive data.

Also featured on the Siemens booth will be integrated solutions for industrial enterprises and infrastructure projects in the power utility sector, with the focus on smart energy management using MindApps.

It will also be showing solutions for digital twinning throughout the value chain, and its automation portfolio.

MindSphere Version 3.0, which is now available on Amazon Web Services (AWS), offers a more powerful development environment with open programming interfaces (API/Application Programming Interface) as well as additional analytical features and extended connectivity.

“With the Digital Enterprise Suite we support both product manufacturers and machine builders from the discrete industries in achieving their digital transformation,” says Jan Mrosik, CEO of the Digital Factory Division.

“It allows us to create a holistic virtual representation, the so-called Digital Twin, of products, production and performance. Through the knowledge gained from MindSphere, we are also able to continuously optimize the entire value chain of our customers.

“This applies not only to different industries and traditional producing methods, but also to new technologies such as additive manufacturing.”

Additive manufacturing will also form a focus of this year’s trade fair presentation. Siemens claims to be the world’s only supplier of integrated software and hardware solutions covering every phase of the additive manufacturing value chain.

For users, this means that the entire digital process chain is depicted in a single integrated software environment. The tools required for engineering, simulation, product preparation and 3D printing are merged in an integrated system and can be accessed by means of a standardized user interface.

This eliminates the need for data conversion and the associated possible loss of information content. This already offers users the possibility to achieve a rapid transition when scaling up from prototyping and small-series production on single machines to fully industrialized series production.

Siemens will also be showcasing a series of new apps surrounding the field of automation with Simatic systems. The new Simatic MindApps Machine Monitor, Notifier and Performance Monitor are special applications designed for MindSphere which allow users to tap into the benefits of cloud-based services and generate added value.

The Simatic MindApps export the relevant data from producing machines or plants for analysis, process it to generate meaningful information and display it on dashboards, or use it as the basis for smart warning systems and message presentation.

Siemens is launching a new soft starter generation for everything from the simplest to the most complex drive requirements in the form of Sirius 3RW5. This seamless range of devices designed to ensure a gentle startup for three-phase asynchronous motors from 5.5 to 1,200 kW can be used to implement efficient, future-proof machine concepts with the utmost simplicity and economy.

“It’s time to leverage the potential and benefit from the advantages of digitalization in order to optimize the entire value chain in the process industries,” emphasizes Jürgen Brandes, CEO of the Process Industries and Drives Division.

“Thanks to our profound electrification and automation expertise, we support companies in implementing their individual digital transformation. Our offering is tailored in each case to the added value and the business models of our customers.”

The digital twin of a process production plant plays an instrumental role here. Digital twinning takes place during the engineering phase and continues to be updated and enriched by additional data over the complete life cycle of the plant.

The ongoing analysis of process data and additional smart sensor data from the field level of a production plant creates a whole new dimension in terms of transparency, enabling a significant improvement in terms of maintenance and servicing. The digital twin also offers decisive benefits when it comes to commissioning. T

Another innovation featured at the Hannover Messe is Sidrive IQ, a new digital platform for the evaluation of drive data using MindSphere. It provides plant and machine operators with a whole new dimension in data transparency for installed drive systems, simplifying fleet management and optimizing servicing activity.

Time-Sensitive Networking or TSN is another theme featured. This permits even more robust, reliable and standardized Ethernet communication between automation devices, even under extreme network loads.

Profinet network infrastructures will be gradually upgraded in future to integrate basic TSN technology. As a first step towards this goal, Siemens will be demonstrating how TSN-based OPC UA PubSub (Publisher/Subscriber) is used on the control level using the example of a robotic trade fair model.