Defining and evaluating an educational framework for virtual commissioning

Abstract: Automated systems are large, complex, and expensive systems; therefore, it is often a better option to use virtual models of these systems for educational purposes. This project focuses on the definition and evaluation of an educational framework for virtual commissioning. The framework itself consists of a group of different software and environments interconnected between them. This is done by following the design and creation method. Acting in accordance with the methodology, the project starts with a clear identification of the need for a framework and follows an iterative process until getting a valid result. For this, first, it has been needed to select the appropriate software for the framework. Then this tentative framework definition is evaluated. Once the integration is valid, the framework itself is used to conduct the virtual commissioning of a manufacturing process that produces two different product variants. This is done to evaluate the framework in terms of virtual commissioning. The result is a framework fully integrated, being able to exchange different data types through the different environments. The final implementation design consists of three different environments that allow PLC and HMI programming, 3D modelling and robot programming, and connection to the cloud via an API and the implementation of a smart algorithm for the optimization of the makespan of a client order. The resulting framework is also one that allows the user to experience different activities that are performed when performing virtual commissioning, such as the PLC and robot programming and other IT solutions like the implementation of APIs and smart algorithms.