Neural networks, digital twins, Artificial Intelligence. Industry 4.0 technologies will change the oil industry beyond recognition

Architects of the digital age

Usually the most technologically advanced areas are considered to be information technologies and biomedicine. The attitude towards companies in traditional industries, such as metal rolling or oil production and refining, is quite different. At first glance, they seem conservative, but many experts call them the main architects of the new digital age.

Industrial giants began to automate production processes in the mid-30s of the last century. For many decades, complexes of hardware and software tools continuously improved and increased in complexity. Automation of production processes - for example, in oil refining - has moved far ahead. The operation of a modern oil refinery is monitored by hundreds of thousands of sensors and instruments, and fuel supplies are tracked in real time by satellite navigation systems. Every day, the average Russian refinery produces more than 50,000 terabytes of information. For comparison, 3 million books that are stored in the digital storage of the Russian State Library occupy hundreds of times less - "only" 162 terabytes.

This is the very “big data”, or Big Data, a flow comparable to the information load of the largest sites and social networks. The accumulated array of data is a unique resource that can be used in business management. But traditional methods of information analysis are no longer suitable for this. It is only possible to work effectively with such a volume of data with the help of Industry 4.0 technologies. In the context of a changing economic paradigm, a rich production “historical experience” is a serious advantage. Big data is at the heart of artificial intelligence. Its ability to learn, understand reality and predict processes directly depends on the amount of knowledge loaded. At the same time, industrial companies have a powerful engineering school and are actively involved in the introduction and improvement of new technologies. This is another circumstance that makes them key players in the "new economy".

Best of the week

Finally, domestic industrialists know the price of business efficiency. Russia is a country of great distances. Often, production assets are located at a great distance from consumers. Under these conditions, it is very difficult to quickly respond to market fluctuations. Traditional technologies allow saving no more than a tenth of a percent. Meanwhile, digital solutions already today allow reducing costs by up to 10-15% per month. The fact is obvious: in the era of the fourth industrial revolution, those who learn how to most effectively apply new technologies in the context of accumulated experience will be competitive.

Petr Kaznacheev, Director of the Center for Resource Economics, RANEPA: “As a first step towards an “integral” artificial intelligence system in oil and gas, one could consider “smart” management and corporate planning. In this case, we could talk about creating an algorithm for digitizing all the key information about the company's activities - from the field to the gas station. This information could be sent to a single automated center. Based on this information, using artificial intelligence methods, forecasts and recommendations for optimizing the company's work could be made.

Digital transformation leader

Realizing this trend, the industrial leaders of Russia and the world are rebuilding business processes that have evolved over decades, introducing Industry 4.0 technologies based on the Industrial Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and Big Data into production. The most intensive transformation is taking place in the oil and gas industry: the industry is dynamically “digitizing”, investing in projects that seemed like science fiction just yesterday. Plants controlled by artificial intelligence and able to predict situations, installations that prompt the operator for the best mode of operation - all this is already becoming a reality today.

At the same time, the maximum task is to create a system for managing production, logistics, production and sales, which would unite smart wells, factories and gas stations into a single ecosystem. In an ideal digital model, the moment a consumer presses a fuel dispenser lever, company analysts in the operations center are instantly informed about what brand of gasoline is being filled into the tank, how much oil needs to be extracted, delivered to the plant and processed to meet demand in specific region. So far, none of the Russian and foreign companies have been able to build such a model. However, Gazprom Neft has advanced the farthest in solving this problem. Its specialists are now implementing a number of projects, which should ultimately become the basis for creating a single platform for managing processing, logistics and sales. A platform that no one else in the world has yet.

Digital twins

Today, Gazprom Neft's refineries are among the most modern in the industry. However, the fourth industrial revolution opens up qualitatively new opportunities, at the same time presenting new requirements for automation. More precisely, it is not so much about automation, but about the almost complete digitization of production.

The basis of the new stage will be the so-called "digital twins" - virtual copies of refinery units. 3D models reliably describe all the processes and relationships that occur in real prototypes. They are based on the work of artificial intelligence based on neural networks. The "Digital Twin" can offer optimal modes of equipment operation, predict its failures, and recommend repair terms. Among its other advantages is the ability to constantly learn. The neural network itself finds errors, corrects and remembers them, thereby improving its work and the accuracy of the forecast.

The basis for training the "digital twin" is an array of historical information. Modern oil refineries are as complex as the human body. Hundreds of thousands of parts, tens of thousands of sensors. The technical documentation for each installation occupies a room the size of an assembly hall. To create a “digital twin”, all this information must first be loaded into a neural network. Then the most difficult stage begins - the stage of teaching artificial intelligence to understand the installation. It includes readings from sensors and instrumentation collected over the last few years of plant operation. The operator simulates various situations, makes the neural network answer the question “what will happen if one of the operation parameters is changed?” - for example, to replace one of the components of the raw material or to increase the power supply of the installation. The neural network analyzes the experience of past years and excludes non-optimal modes from the algorithm by calculation, and learns to predict the future operation of the installation.

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Gazprom Neft has already fully “digitized” two industrial complexes involved in the production of automotive fuel — a catalytic cracking gasoline hydrotreatment unit at the Moscow Oil Refinery and a unit operating at the company’s oil refinery in Omsk. Tests have shown that artificial intelligence is able to simultaneously take into account a huge number of parameters of their "digital twins", make decisions and notify about possible deviations in work even before the moment when the trouble threatens to develop into a serious problem.

At the same time, Gazprom Neft is testing complex solutions, which will minimize the impact of the human factor on the scale of the whole production. Similar projects are currently being implemented at the company's bitumen plants in Ryazan and Kazakhstan. Successful solutions found empirically can subsequently be scaled up to the level of large refineries, which will eventually create an effective digital production management platform.

Nikolay Legkodimov, Head of the Advanced Technologies Advisory Group, KPMG in Russia and the CIS:“Solutions that model various components, assemblies and systems have been known and used for a long time, including in the oil and gas industry. One can speak of a qualitative leap only when a sufficient breadth of coverage of these models has been achieved. If we manage to combine these models with each other, combine them into a whole complex chain, then this will indeed allow solving problems at a completely new level - in particular, simulating the behavior of the system in critical, unprofitable and simply dangerous operating conditions. For those areas where retooling and upgrading equipment is very expensive, this will allow pre-testing of new components.”

Performance management

In the future, the entire value chain in the logistics, refining and marketing block of Gazprom Neft will be united by a single technological platform based on artificial intelligence. The "brain" of this organism will be the Performance Management Center, established a year ago in St. Petersburg. It is here that information from the “digital twins” will flow, here it will be analyzed, and here, based on the data received, management decisions will be made.

Already today, more than 250,000 sensors and dozens of systems transmit information to the Center in real time from all the company's assets included in the perimeter of the Gazprom Neft logistics, processing and marketing block. Every second, 180,000 signals arrive here. It would take a person just to view this information about a week. The Center's digital brain does this instantly: it monitors the quality of products and the quantity of oil products in real time along the entire chain - from the refinery outlet to the end consumer.

The strategic goal of the Center is, using the technologies and opportunities of Industry 4.0, to radically increase the efficiency of the downstream segment. That is, not just managing processes - this can be done within traditional systems, but making these processes the most efficient: using predictive analytics and artificial intelligence at each stage of the business, reduce losses, optimize processes and prevent losses.

In the near future, the Center should learn how to solve several key tasks that affect the efficiency of business management. This includes predicting the future 60 days ahead: how the market will behave in two months, how much oil will need to be processed to meet the demand for gasoline at the current time, what condition the equipment will be in, whether the plants will be able to cope with the upcoming load and whether them repair. At the same time, in the next two years, the Center should reach 50% capacity and begin to monitor, analyze and forecast the amount of oil product stocks at all oil depots and refueling complexes of the company; automatically monitor more than 90% of production parameters; analyze the reliability of more than 40% of process equipment and develop measures to prevent the loss of oil products and the reduction in their quality.

By 2020, Gazprom Neft aims to reach 100% of the performance management center's capabilities. Among the declared indicators are the analysis of the reliability of all equipment, the prevention of losses in terms of quality and quantity of products, and the predictive management of technological deviations.

Daria Kozlova, Senior Consultant at VYGON Consulting:“In general, integrated solutions bring significant economic benefits to the industry. For example, according to Accenture, the economic effect of digitalization could be more than $1 trillion. Therefore, when it comes to large vertically integrated companies, the introduction of integrated solutions is highly justified. But it is also justified for small companies, since efficiency improvements can free them up additional funds by reducing costs, increase the efficiency of working capital management, etc.”

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One of the promising ideas of tomorrow for any manufacturing is digital asset modeling: creating virtual copies of real objects that look and function exactly like their prototypes. At Gazprom Neft, digital twins are closely involved in the company's processing facilities, and much of this innovative technology has already been implemented

From drawings to 3D models

A bit of history. People have always needed drawings and diagrams, from the moment of the first inventions - wheels and levers, in order to transmit information to each other about the device of these devices and the rules for their use. At first, these were primitive drawings containing only the most basic information. However, designs became more complex, and images and instructions became more detailed. Since then, technologies for visualization, documentation and storage of knowledge about structures and mechanisms have come a long way. Nevertheless, for a long time, paper remained the main carrier for fixing engineering thought, and the plane remained the working space.

In the second half of the twentieth century, it became clear that the usual army of draftsmen armed with drawing boards was no longer able to keep up with the rapid growth of industrial production and the complexity of engineering developments. Accelerating the processing of voluminous and complex information (for example, a process unit for atmospheric distillation of oil contains more than 30 thousand pieces of equipment) required a change in the technology of work of designers, constructors, builders, technologists, specialists in operation and maintenance. Evolution technical means designing made another round, and in the early 90s of the last century, computer-aided design systems - CAD - came to the oil industry. At first they used 2D drawings, and then, by the end of the 2000s, they also came to 3D.

Modern design systems allow engineers to complete the layout and design of industrial facilities in three-dimensional form, taking into account all the restrictions and requirements of the production process, as well as industrial safety requirements

Modern design systems allow engineers to complete the layout and design of industrial facilities in three-dimensional form, taking into account all the restrictions and requirements of the production process, as well as industrial safety requirements. With their help, you can create a design model of a particular installation and correctly place technological and technical components on it without contradictions and collisions. Experience shows that through the use of such systems, it is possible to reduce the number of errors and inconsistencies in the design and operation by 2-3 times. various installations. The figure is impressive when you consider that for large-scale industrial equipment, the number of errors that have to be corrected during the design verification process is in the thousands.

From the point of view of designers and builders, the use of 3D models makes it possible to radically improve the quality of project documentation and reduce design time. The constructed information model of the object is also useful at the operational stage. This is a new level of ownership of an industrial facility, where personnel can obtain any information required to make a decision or complete a task in the shortest possible time, based on the existing model. Moreover, when equipment needs to be upgraded after some time, future designers will have access to all relevant information, with a history of repairs and maintenance.

Omsk pilot

Sergey Ovchinnikov,
Head of Control Systems Department, Gazprom Neft

The development and implementation of an engineering data management system is, without a doubt, an important part of the innovative development of the logistics, processing and marketing unit. The functionality inherent in SUpriD, the potential of the system will allow the block in particular and the company as a whole to become leaders in digital management of engineering data in oil refining. Moreover, this software product is an important component of the entire line of related IT systems, which are the foundation of the BLPS Performance Management Center that is currently being created.

In 2014, Gazprom Neft launched a project to create a system for managing the engineering data of oil refining facilities - SUpriD. The project is based on the use of 3D modeling technologies for the design, construction and maintenance of industrial facilities. Thanks to their use, the terms of creation and reconstruction of oil refineries are reduced, the efficiency and safety of their operation are increased, and the downtime of the process equipment of the plant is reduced. The implementation of a modern engineering data management system on the latest Smart Plant for Owners/Operators (SPO) platform is carried out by specialists from the control systems department of the logistics, processing and marketing unit, as well as ITSK and Avtomatika Servis, a subsidiary.

Through the use of automated design systems that create 3D models of objects, it is possible to reduce the number of errors and inconsistencies in the design and operation of various installations by 2–3 times.

At the end of last year, a pilot project was successfully completed to deploy the platform functionality and set up business processes for the newly reconstructed primary oil processing unit of the Omsk Oil Refinery - AT-9. The system implements functionality for storing, managing and updating information about the installation throughout its entire life cycle: from construction to operation. Along with the system, regulatory and methodological documentation, requirements for the designer and standards for engineering data management were developed. "SUpriD" is a good assistant in the work, - said Sergey Schmidt, head of the AT-9 unit at the Omsk Oil Refinery. - The system allows you to quickly access engineering information about any equipment, view its drawing, clarify technical parameters, localize the location and take measurements on a three-dimensional model that accurately reproduces the real installation. The use of Suprid helps, among other things, to train new specialists and trainees.”

How it works?

The task of the "SUpriD" system is to cover all stages of the life cycle of a technological object. Start with the collection of engineering information at the design phase and then update the information at subsequent stages - construction, operation, reconstruction, displaying Current state object.

It all starts with information from the designer, which is sequentially transferred and loaded into the system. The initial data are: design documentation, information on the functional-technological and construction-assembly structure of the object, intelligent technological schemes. It is this information that forms the basis information model, allowing you to instantly receive address information about construction sites and the technological scheme of the installation, making it possible in a few seconds to find the desired position of technological equipment, instrumentation and control equipment on the technological scheme, to determine its participation in the technological process.

In turn, using the project 3D model of the object loaded into the system, it is possible to visualize it, see the configuration of blocks, the spatial arrangement of equipment, the surroundings of neighboring equipment, and measure the distances between various elements of the installation. The formation of the operational information model is being completed by binding executive documentation and 2D-, 3D-models "as built", providing an opportunity to obtain detailed information about the properties and technical characteristics of any equipment or its elements at the stage of operation. Thus, the system is a structured and interconnected set of all engineering data of an object and its equipment.

Roman Komarov,
Deputy Head of the Department of Engineering Systems "ITSK", Head of Development "SUpriD"

After many years of evaluating the benefits of the project and preliminary study, the pilot system was implemented in a short time. The introduction of "SUpriD" allowed the company to obtain a tool for managing the engineering data of oil refining facilities. The next global step, which we will gradually approach, is the formation of a digital information model of an oil refinery.

To date, more than 80,000 documents have already been uploaded to the electronic archive "SUPRID". The system allows you to perform a positional search for up-to-date information about any type of equipment, provide the user with comprehensive information on each item, including technical characteristics, overall dimensions, material design, design and operating parameters, etc. "SUPRID" makes it possible to view any part of the installation in a three-dimensional model or on a flow diagram, open scanned copies of documents related to this position: working, executive or operational documentation (passports, acts, drawings, etc.).

More than 80,000 documents have already been uploaded to the SUPRID electronic archive. The system allows you to perform a positional search for up-to-date information about any type of equipment, to provide the user with comprehensive information on each item.

Such variability significantly reduces the time spent on access to up-to-date information and its interpretation, allows you to avoid errors during the reconstruction and technical re-equipment of the facility, and the replacement of obsolete equipment. "SUpriD" helps to analyze the operation of the plant and its equipment in assessing the efficiency of operation, contributes to the preparation of changes in the technological regulations, the investigation of failures, malfunctions, accidents at the facility, the education and training of maintenance personnel.

"SUpriD" is integrated with other information systems of the BLPS and forms a single information environment for engineering data, which, among other things, will become the basis for the innovative Unit's Performance Control Center. Interrelation with such programs as KSU NSI (corporate system for managing regulatory and reference information), SAP TORO (maintenance and repair of equipment), SU PSD (design and estimate documentation management system) TrekDoc, Meridium APM, forms a unique integrated automation system processes for managing the production assets of an oil refinery, allowing to increase the economic effect of their joint use for the company.

Project efficiency

In a relatively short period of time, Gazprom Neft IT specialists managed not only to master the intricacies of the SPO platform on which the engineering data management system is built, but also to create a completely new infrastructure for the company, develop a set of regulatory documents, and, as a result, develop a qualitatively new approach to construction of oil refineries.

Even at an early stage of the project, it became obvious that the system would be in demand by the plant's operational services and capital construction services. Suffice it to say that its use saves up to 30% of working time for searching and processing technical information on any object. When SUpriD is integrated with the systems of regulatory and reference information, maintenance and repair of equipment, design estimates and other relevant engineering data, they become available for prompt and high-quality maintenance of process equipment. The capabilities of the system also make it possible to create a simulator for maintenance services, which will undoubtedly increase the level of training of their specialists. For refinery capital construction departments, the system will become a design tool at the stage of minor and medium repairs. This approach greatly simplifies the control over the reconstruction of industrial facilities and improves the quality of repairs.

It is assumed that the investments invested in the implementation of "SUPRID" will pay off in about 3-4 years. This will be possible due to the reduction of design time, earlier transfer of installations from the commissioning stage to commercial operation and, as a result, an increase in the volume of finished products. Another significant plus is the acceleration of the preparation and implementation of maintenance work and the implementation of reconstruction and modernization of units by reducing the time required for the refinery's operating services to check new design documentation and timely detection of shortcomings and errors in the work of design and construction contractors.

The SUpriID implementation program is designed for the period up to 2020. It will be used to "digitize" both existing installations and the construction of new facilities. Currently, specialists are preparing to replicate the system at the Moscow Oil Refinery.

What is a "Digital Twin"?

The digital twin is a new word in modeling and production planning - a single model that reliably describes all processes and relationships both at a separate facility and within the entire production asset in the form of virtual installations and simulation models. Thus, a virtual copy of the physical world is created.

The use of a digital twin, which is an exact copy of a real asset, helps to quickly simulate the development of events depending on certain conditions and factors, find the most effective modes of operation, identify potential risks, integrate new technologies into existing production lines, and reduce the time and cost of project implementation. In addition, the digital twin helps define security steps.

Modern technologies make it possible to build digital twins of absolutely any production assets, whether it be an oil refinery or a logistics company. In the future, these technologies will allow remote control of the entire production process in real time. On the basis of the digital twin, all systems and models used for planning and managing production activities can be combined, which will increase the transparency of processes, the accuracy and speed of decision-making.

The digital twin can also be seen as e-passport product, which records all data on raw materials, materials, operations performed, tests and laboratory research. This means that everything from drawings and production technology to maintenance and disposal regulations will be digitized and readable by devices and people. This principle allows you to monitor and guarantee the quality of products, to ensure its effective service.

June 23, 2017 The creation of a 3D Digital Twin is included in the list of standard features of Winnum®, a platform for the Industrial Internet of Things. Now in Winnum® creating 3D Digital Twins is as easy as connecting sensors.

"Digital twin" is a computer representation of a specific physical product, product group, mechanical or technological process, which completely repeats everything that its physical prototype does, from movements and kinematics, to the representation of its physical environment and current operating conditions, including movement liquids and gases. The digital twin acts as an intermediary between the physical product and important information about it, such as operating or maintenance data. Now with the help of Winnum for any production systems, full-fledged feedback is realized based on the collection of data from the real world and the transfer of this data to the digital world.

What is 3D Digital twin?

A 3D Digital Twin is a 3D computer representation of a specific physical product, product group, mechanical or technological process, which includes not only three-dimensional geometry, technical characteristics and current operating parameters, but also other important information- environment and operating conditions, technical condition and operating time, interaction with other objects, predictive analytics data, including failure and failure prediction. A digital twin can be either simplified or very detailed and reflect a wide range of very different characteristics of both the product itself and technological and production processes.

The presence of a three-dimensional Digital Twin helps to organize the connection of the product with the objects connected to it, software responsible for managing the product, monitoring the operating status and operation process, etc. The 3D Digital Twin is especially valuable when it most accurately represents the actual state and performance of its physical counterpart. No matter how precise, detailed and elaborate the actions at the stages of design, modeling and pre-production are, in real life, as a rule, the processes proceed a little differently, and it is the Digital Twin that is able to act as a bridge to the necessary information about the actual operation of products. This information can be used in many ways, for example, to assess bottlenecks, opportunities for improvements and changes, confirm the feasibility of changes, etc. In addition, since the Digital Twin is a three-dimensional object, working with it is much more understandable for a person than working with any tables or graphs. The 3D Digital Twin allows you to look inside a real physical object directly during operation without the need to stop the equipment and open panels that block access to nodes that require verification.

Winnum's unique functionality allows our customers to create and manage 3D digital twins by combining information that comes from physical objects and real processes with information that is created in various computer-aided design (CAD) systems. Winnum supports loading 3D CAD models in neutral formats such as STL, VRML and OBJ, direct download is available for Blender and Collada. Availability of ready-made 3D libraries of robots, equipment, sensors and others geometric objects further speeds up and simplifies the process of creating Digital Twins, even for those companies that cannot boast of having fully digitized products in 3D.

3D Scenes and Smart Digital Twins (Smart Digital Twin)

Each Digital Twin corresponds to one specific item. That is, if a company uses 100 pieces of equipment or produces hundreds of thousands of products, then each piece of equipment/product has its own Digital Twin. Winnum's unique Big Data capabilities help manage so many digital twins for day-to-day tasks and ensure high system performance regardless of their number.

3D Scenes are used to bring Digital Twins together and get an idea of ​​their overall performance and performance, overall variation based on operating environment, and more. 3D scenes in Winnum are not just 3D environments, as is customary in computer-aided design systems. 3D scenes in Winnum is the ability to create a full-fledged 3D world with a wide range of tools for working with light sources (including Raytracing, specular views, fog, intensity, transparency), textures (including dynamic textures with video stream), custom cameras and mechanisms for interacting with 3D objects (selecting an object, clicking on an object, transferring a control action).

All actions of the 3D scene and all tools for working with the 3D Digital Twin are available exclusively in the Web browser.

About companySignum

Signum is a global provider of solutions for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). The company's solutions help transform the process of creating, operating and maintaining products using Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies. The next generation Winnum™ platform gives companies the tools they need to capture, analyze and generate additional value from the big data generated by their connected computer network controllers, sensors, sensors, products and systems.

From the editor of the site: At the end of May, the Siemens PLM Connection forum was held in Moscow, the main topics of which were the creation of a digital twin, 3D printing, the Internet of things and increasing the competitiveness of Russian products.

Note that the term digital twin in Russian-language publications is translated both as “digital twin” and as “digital twin”.

The hall barely accommodated everyone.

Five steps to building a digital enterprise

“Once you create and optimize these processes, you can integrate them, connect your suppliers, and get a single holistic approach to building your business. What's more, it will give you the ability to create a digital twin of your business that will allow you to model your business to identify bottlenecks early on, such as where surpluses are occurring or where delays are expected,” said Jean Luca Sacco, Director of Marketing for Siemens PLM Software in the EMEA region. - It sounds like a fantasy, but it is already quite feasible. It only takes five steps, and the digital twin can help your company.”

The first step - product development, Jean Luca Sacco illustrated with a real example of one of the products created by Siemens itself with the maximum reuse of its previous generations and taking into account the subsequent verification without creating a physical prototype of all its properties, including heating, cooling and protection against electromagnetic influences . “Our specialty is product development based on a systematic approach based on an information-filled digital twin of the product, which is stored in the Teamcenter collaboration environment in such a way that all development participants have access to it,” he said.

The second step is the development of production technology, which implies modeling not the product itself, but production operations. “Using Plant Simulation, we simulate all production operations even before the workplace is created, in order to foresee any difficulties in advance. And this applies not only to one workplace, but to the entire plant as a whole. This will allow to optimize material flows, energy consumption and simulate production processes long before the start of investments in the construction of the shop,” said Jean Luca Sacco and presented an example showing how the model can avoid a dangerous curvature of the worker’s spine during assembly.

The third step, preparation and launch of production, is associated with the use of another digital twin, this time for technical processes and equipment. According to Jean Luca Sacco, Siemens is the only company in the world that can offer an integrated computer-engineering suite that allows you to create a complete digital twin, including all disciplines, such as mechanical, electrical and software, to test everything before production. He emphasized the importance of integrating all the components of such a twin: “After all, everything in life is interconnected. We design a product, on this basis we develop a process, and the features of the technical process impose requirements for product development.

The fourth step - the production of the product, is also implemented using a digital twin. Indeed, without it it is impossible to draw up a real work schedule in order, for example, to determine the loss of time and optimize production processes. Traditionally, this required a lot of paper instructions, which was inefficient and error-prone, but digital modeling makes it possible to create the ideal set of instructions for manufacturing and assembling a product. Jean Luca Sacco explained that such a solution is complex, it covers all the resources of the enterprise, such as people, materials, tooling, machines, and with the help of a digital twin allows you to manage production. Electronic Information transferred to the operator at that moment. when he needs her. At the workplace, he can use augmented reality technology and better understand what he needs to do with the incoming workpiece and thereby minimize assembly errors. But even if errors do occur, comparing the real product with its digital twin will eliminate them. “This approach removes the walls that have always existed between designers and workers, and thus makes it possible to significantly improve the quality of products,” said Jean Luca Sacco.

The fifth stage - maintenance, will become more efficient if you use a solution that allows you to collect and analyze the information that the product generates during its operation.

To implement these five steps, Siemens offers the Digital Enterprise Software Suite, which includes Teamcenter, NX, Tecnomatix and others, which takes into account the processes of production chains for different industries. According to Jean Luca Sacco, this solution shows the state of the product at all stages - from the initial idea to the consumer, all in a single environment. At the same time, at each stage, people use the achievements of their colleagues, benefiting from the fact that they have data not only about the current stage, but also about all previous and subsequent ones.

Russian realities

Despite all the difficulties, our companies create complex innovative products, solving problems that have not been solved before. Victor Bespalov cited several developments as an example. So, when creating a new Il-76 transport aircraft, a digital layout was built and a single informational space, covering the parent organization - KB im. Ilyushin, and suppliers.

When developing the new KamAZ-5490 tractor, almost all assembly processes were simulated before the start of production, which corresponds to the Siemens concept, and when creating the new PD-14 engine, which is now being tested, its full digital layout was developed, which is used not only in production, but in technological services.

At the same time, Viktor Bespalov stressed, Russian enterprises have to solve many problems. So, due to the complication of products, traditional methods of product decomposition cease to work. Therefore, at the earliest stages, it is necessary to deal with requirements management and compliance with certification norms.

Making changes during the development phase and beyond remains a challenge. The use of digital modeling and various calculation methods helps here, however, the complexity of this task suggests that there is still work to be done. There are resource management issues related to the interaction between PLM and ERP.

Viktor Bespalov: “Despite all the difficulties, most of our Russian customers
plans to expand the use of Siemens PLM Software products.”

There are also national problems. Our companies work not only locally, they enter global markets, because otherwise it is impossible. Victor Bespalov cited data from a Russian aviation holding company and its foreign competitors, which show that our company spends almost twice as much time fine-tuning production as they do. In his opinion, this is a wake-up call that Western companies are bringing products to market much faster, and Russian manufacturers should try to reduce these losses.

To do this, our companies must use technologies that make them competitive. In this regard, Viktor Bespalov believes that one should be attentive to the choice of technologies: “I categorically disagree with the statements of some Russian developers that have appeared recently in connection with the import substitution policy, in which they emphasize that Russian PLM systems are 80% meet the requirements of our enterprises. And what to do with the remaining 20%? How will our domestic companies be able to compete in such a situation? How to deal with global players who are already equipped with modern technologies?”.

As an answer to these rhetorical questions, Viktor Bespalov cited the results of a survey of Russian customers, which show. that despite all the difficulties, most of them plan to expand the use of Siemens PLM Software products.

Apparently, the attention that the Russian office shows to the requirements of customers plays an important role in this. Moreover, today we are no longer talking about the design of drawings, but about functional requirements. At the last conference, the consideration of the requirements of the OKB im. Sukhoi and ASTC im. Antonov in the NX CAD system.

This work continues for other products, in particular, the integration of the Sinumetrik CNC system and NX CAM to combine the real and virtual worlds has been strengthened, the integration of NX and Fibersim for aviation programs has been improved, the Product Cost Management system has been adapted to Russian costing methodologies, and Teamcenter and Test systems have been integrated. Lab for end-to-end requirements verification process.

This topic worries Russian users. So Michael Rebruch, director of development at NX, was asked from the floor about how you can communicate your concerns to the NX developers and influence development. To which he replied that the company continues to cooperate with customers in Russia, listening to the wishes and taking them into account: “It is important for us to understand how they work, where they experience difficulties, and then we will try to help.” For his part, Viktor Bespalov promised that immediately after the forum, work with customers would continue on defining requirements and creating a plan to satisfy them in the next versions of the products.

Attention is also paid to the topic of creating a prototype of a standard solution. “PLM is not a cheap technology, so customers are interested in getting quick returns. In this regard, over the past four years, our efforts have been focused on reducing the implementation time,” Viktor Bespalov said.

Special pre-configured data models, NX templates for supporting ESD, templates for change management processes, libraries for standard parts, materials, technological resources, etc. have already been created, a methodology has been developed quick start into operation. According to Siemens estimates and data from pilot projects, implementation times can be cut in half due to the fact that almost 80% of the work is covered by a standard solution, and only 20-30% is accounted for by customer specifics.

In addition, as part of the implementation of the industrial approach announced several years ago, Siemens is promoting in Russia a set of pre-configured industry solutions Catalyst, which includes best practices and basic processes for various industries, such as shipbuilding, automotive, mechanical engineering, electronics, energy, etc. . According to Viktor Bespalov, these solutions make it possible to introduce new solutions into existing processes in such a way as to reduce the gap between advanced technologies and what the company actually uses.

The speeches of Russian customers showed how we implement the listed Siemens technologies. Thus, Vasily Skvorchuk, head of the IT department at Ural Locomotives LLC, said that when the new production of Lastochka electric trains was launched, it was decided to create an integrated automation system at the enterprise, including Teamcenter, NX CAD / CAM / CAE from Siemens, Russian- Belarusian ERP-system Omega (Russian-Belarusian) and "1C: Production Enterprise Management".

Vasily Skvorchuk: “Now in the integrated corporate system employs about 1100 people"

LLC Ural Locomotives, a joint venture with Siemens, was established in 2010. “From that moment, the rapid development of information technologies began at our plant,” Vasily Skvorchuk said and added that now about 1,100 people work in the integrated corporate system, and management can monitor the progress of the work on the manager's dashboard, which receives all the basic information. Thanks to this system, all divisions have access to a single source of up-to-date information necessary for the production of high-quality equipment for Lastochka.

The company plans to use a three-dimensional electronic product layout for parts processed on a CNC machine. A pilot project has already been carried out.

The Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant, which develops and manufactures Mi-8 helicopters, is also switching to an electronic layout of the product. CIO of the plant Maxim Lobanov spoke about two projects to organize a digital process of technological preparation of production based on the original design documentation in the form of an electronic layout.

First, for the new helicopter model, the End Beam project was implemented, during which the rigging and the beam itself were created, and then the Cargo Floor project, made entirely using paperless technology. As part of this project, the tooling assembly process was worked out, which made it possible to increase the accuracy of the assembly and reduce the time.

According to Maxim Lobanov, in connection with the transition to paperless technologies, it became necessary to integrate the Teamcenter PLM system with the planning system used at the plant, as well as create a modern information system to bring the digital layout to each workplace.

Foreign examples

“Manufacturing and service is an interesting combination, to get the maximum effect, you need to bring these elements together. We have about half a million pieces of equipment in service and digitalization is very important here,” explained Matti Leto, Director of Product & Engineering Process at Konecranes.

According to him, first the processes were defined, and then the search began for a solution to ensure these processes in such a way that the systems continue to work in the future for many years. A list of platforms was compiled, including ERP, CRM, etc., but the company considers the PLM system to be the most important in terms of long-term sustainability, since it contains information about products. The choice fell on Teamcenter.

On the this moment Some of the systems have been implemented, the rest are being implemented. Meanwhile, Konecranes is moving to the next level of digitalization by using IoT technology to automate equipment maintenance and streamline other processes. For this purpose, a portal has been created for the exchange of information between the company, partners and customers.

The IoT project at Konecranes has started successfully. More than 10 thousand units of equipment are connected to the network. “PLM-system significantly increases the value of the Internet of Things, because product data together with equipment monitoring data allows you to quickly make informed decisions,” Matti Leto shared his experience. We believe that the Internet of Things is new model for the business that holds the future.”

The digital twin as the basis for future production

“Creating a digital twin to manage the lifecycle of the entire production system allows enterprises to reach a new level of innovation,” said Robert Meschel, Siemens PLM Software’s senior director for Manufacturing Engineering Software strategy, and said that acting in this direction, the company is developing the direction of manufacturing engineering and digital production. “Several innovations that we are currently working on bridge the gap between design and production,” said Robert Meschel.

In addition, robots are increasingly being used, which are now much more flexible than before. 3D printing, which until recently was considered only suitable for prototyping, is beginning to be used in real production. As proof, Robert Meschel provided case studies from the aerospace, shipbuilding, engineering and automotive industries that show that this is a radical acceleration: “We are updating our products to give customers the opportunity to use this technology.”

Another promising advanced approach is virtual commissioning using an integrated appliance. According to Robert Meschel, all this indicates that the basis of future production will be the simulation of reality, and an important prerequisite for this is a digital twin - a model with a high degree of detail.

It is also important that the use of a digital twin allows you to integrate calculations and full-scale tests, as well as models and data. According to Wuter Dehandshutter, Technical Director of Product, Siemens PLM Software, the challenge here is to make the most of the information created at different stages and link it together, but now there are a number of stages in which engineering information is produced in isolation.

Woeter Dehandshutter: "The use of a digital twin allows the integration of calculations and field tests"

He showed that this problem can be solved by using a digital twin, analyzing the product at the earliest stages through virtual tests, managing this twin and increasing its level of detail and accuracy so that field tests can focus on meeting requirements, and not on finding solutions.

As an example, Wuter Dehandshutter cited the Irkut corporation, which applied this approach to the design of the MS-21 aircraft, using the LMS Imagin.Lab and LMS Amesim products to calculate the system behavior. At the same time, not only individual parts were modeled, but the overall interaction of systems, which made it possible even at the design stage to check how the whole aircraft would behave and, according to Irkut, reduce the creation of the most complex models by five times compared to the previously used solution.

What's new in NX 11

However, one novelty is already available. It's free mobile app Catchbook designed for development. “By drawing a freehand sketch on a tablet, the result of which is converted to geometry, we can add dimensions and control the positioning of the sketches. It is also possible to take a photo with a mobile phone and use this system to explore the possibilities of this project,” Michael Rebruch explained.

Michael Rebruch talks about what's new in NX 11

Along with NX 11, a new product, Converging Model, will be released, which allows you to combine precise geometry and face-based cellular representation in one model. According to Michael Rebruch, clients who have already met him say he has changed the way he works so that the model can be used in design, testing and new methods such as 3D printing and hybrid manufacturing.

NX 11 will also include Nvidia's new Lightworks Iray+ solution, powered by Nvidia's Iray technology, for rendering photorealistic images and including a library of materials and scenes.

In addition, NX 11 will be able to scan and upload huge point clouds into the system and interact with them just like in the real world to design in the context of the physical environment.

In NX 11.01 will be implemented new technology topology optimization, designed to create surfaces of complex shape, optimize the shape, mass, materials used, dimensions and topology of structures while maintaining the functioning of the part. It is expected that this will improve the interaction with additive manufacturing. -->

More and more companies are showing interest in the topic of digitalization of production. The organizers of the regional scientific and technical conference “Digitalization of production processes. The use of industrial software for building digital enterprises”, which was recently held in Samara.

It was initiated by the SMS-Automation group of companies, known as a universal integrator specializing in the creation and support of industrial automation systems, together with the Digital Production department of Siemens, one of the world's largest concerns in the field of automation and electrical products, with which Samara developers have been connected by more than two decades of fruitful cooperation.

The forum of manufacturers and developers of information systems was also supported by the Ministry of Industry and Technology of the Samara Region. Its specialists have repeatedly noted the success of the group of companies in the field of industrial automation and the construction of large information systems.

Representatives of industrial enterprises of the Samara region were introduced to the conceptual foundations and specific tools for building effective digital production. Industrial automation is only part of digitalization, or digitalization, as it is also called. Digitalization is the automation of processes throughout the life cycle of a product, equipment, enterprise. The project, and its functioning, and modernization fit into it.

The report of Andrey Sidorov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the SMS-Automation Group of Companies, "Industrial Software as a Tool for Digitalization" aroused great interest among the conference participants. “We are on the verge of intellectualization of control systems,” said Andrey Sidorov (on the bottom photo). - Now equipment manufacturers in the West are changing the production model. Equipment begins to have a digital twin. The change in the business model will lead to the fact that a digital twin will be a significant factor in choosing a supplier.”

Digitization is, among other things, the development of situations on virtual digital models, which allows you to save huge amounts of money. Siemens is already at its digitalization site, without waiting for the arrival of the machine for the production of parts, having received its virtual image, connects virtual robots to it and starts debugging technological processes without wasting time.

The topics raised by the experts related to the use of specific digital production tools were perceived with interest by the conference participants and raised a lot of questions and discussions. In addition to the reports, the attention of the conference guests was attracted by demo stands with practical examples of the implementation of the principles of digitalization in the realities of industrial process control systems in Russia. Special attention at the conference was paid to information security issues modern systems automation. Acquaintance with current trends in the development of enterprises within the concept of "Industry 4.0", according to experts, can become an additional tool in the process of increasing competitiveness in the era of "Industry 4.0".