Into the early steps of Virtual Commissioning in Tecnomatix Plant Simulation using S7-PLCSIM Advanced and STEP 7 TIA Portal

The commissioning of new designs, technologies, production related changes and control codes and strategies has been always a risky milestone to overcome in manufacturing. It has been carried out, in many instances, in a (quasi) poka-yoke way often leading companies to incur extra costs affecting the overall efficiency of a given project. In this regard, the emergence of novel Virtual Commissioning tools and methods have become a great asset adding to the commissioning process the values of shorter times, flexibility and reduced risks. The present paper aims at giving an introductory insight into the early steps of “Virtual Commissioning” in the software Tecnomatix Plant Simulation in conjunction with other engineering tools like the S7-PLCSIM Advanced and STEP 7 TIA Portal. It generally exploressome of the capabilities of the software, and boards the benefits of using it prior to the implementation/real commissioning. The paper further lists key steps related to the realization of this process andmakes emphasis on the interconnection and functioning of all of these tools for Virtual Commissioning purposes. At the end, there is also a simple example that implements and illustrates some of the contents and knowledge addressed.