Faster from idea to system solution: Digital twin optimises Bürkle systems; Yaskawa robots can be easily programmed via the SRCI interface.

With an integrated tool chain, Robert Bürkle GmbH shows how to plan, build, and commission complex systems more efficiently. Virtual commissioning helps save both valuable time and material starting from the very first project.

A few clicks, then the robot picks up one of the exterior building panels that exits from the coating system, turns it, and then transports it to the stacking unit. Then an error message pops up, indicating that the holding force has fallen too low. Normally, the panel, which weighs around 80 kg, would then fall to the floor unchecked. Luckily, Marian Michels, software engineer at Robert Bürkle GmbH, is now able to analyze and eliminate such errors using a digital model: he and his colleagues can now rely on a digital twin for development and design. This digital twin, based on the CAD model of the system as a “single source of truth,” serves as the foundation for all subsequent steps of the process, as Jürgen Müller, head of mechanical design at Bürkle, explains.

Responding to new market challenges

What sounds very theoretical at first becomes more practical when you take a closer look at the market environment of Robert Bürkle GmbH: the company is a pioneer in the field of coating technologies for many industries and applications. The spectrum of products ranges from credit cards, printed circuit boards, and photovoltaic modules to furniture and wooden building materials. “This diversity challenges us to implement, maintain, and improve a large number of processes and system concepts,” Müller continues. Most of the systems are individually tailored to specific customer requirements. Bürkle, in turn, must provide and maintain the corresponding know-how for commissioning and service for its users worldwide. For this reason, the design management team piloted the first initiatives for model-based system development and commissioning some time ago. “This allows us to make better use of our resources both in programming and in designing and fine-tuning the systems more efficiently,” says Müller.

The right partners and tools

Then, two opportunities brought virtual commissioning at Bürkle a huge step forward: a large customer project well-suited as a pilot project for virtual commissioning, and the end-to-end tool chain from Siemens. The collaboration with Siemens proved very successful, and Bürkle was able to present its virtual commissioning at LIGNA, the most important trade fair for the wood industry, Müller continues: “The solution for the digital twin that Siemens presented to us was a very good match for our existing tool landscape.” The integrated tool chain—with the NX Mechatronics Concept Designer for mechatronic development, Simit for simulating the automation application, and PLCSim Advanced as a virtual image of the physical Simatic controller that will later be installed—works perfectly with the engineering in TIA Portal. This tool chain eliminates unnecessary system discontinuities, and Bürkle can integrate new tools into its development processes more easily. Ultimately, every developer should be able to carry out virtual commissioning, Müller states: “We don’t want to have one expert but will use the digital twin in our day-to-day work.” The seamless cooperation with Siemens’ software tools also means that Bürkle does not have to enter data multiple times.