Virtual commissioning of a conveyor system in the meat processing industry

Would you like to use emulation and virtual commissioning in your projects, or assess whether a digital twin would be beneficial for your plant?

SimPlan supports companies in implementing emulation solutions, carrying out virtual commissioning of control systems, and developing digital twins for production and logistics.

Digital twin of a conveyor system using Emulate3D reduces commissioning times and project risks

Customer profile

Frontmatec is a leading global supplier of equipment and solutions for the meat processing industry. The company develops systems for the entire value chain of the sector, including:

• Carcass grading
• Slaughter lines
• Cutting and deboning lines
• Hygiene and control systems
• Logistics and packaging solutions

With branches in Europe, America and Asia, Frontmatec carries out projects for local production facilities as well as for large international food corporations.

Initial situation

Frontmatec develops and implements systems worldwide. Commissioning of the systems often takes place directly at the customer’s site.

This approach presents various challenges:

• Time-critical commissioning phases on site
• Errors in the PLC code often only become apparent during actual commissioning
• High travel costs for automation and commissioning teams
• Project risks due to delays in commissioning

To reduce these risks, Frontmatec sought a solution that would allow control programmes to be tested prior to actual installation.

Task and Objectives

The aim of the project was to introduce a solution for the virtual commissioning of container handling systems.

The focus was on the following requirements:

• Early testing and validation of the PLC code
• Shortening of commissioning time at the customer’s site
• Reduction of project risks during system commissioning
• Development of reusable models for future plant projects

Emulate3D from Rockwell Automation was selected as the technology for emulation and the digital twin.

Approach

During the implementation of the emulation solution, SimPlan supported Frontmatec with training and the implementation of the first projects.

SimPlan is one of the most experienced service providers in the German-speaking region in the fields of simulation, emulation, virtual commissioning and digital twin technologies.

In the first project, a digital model of a container conveyor system was created. The focus was on:

• Developing modular and reusable system components
• Developing a scalable model structure
• Linking the simulation model to the PLC

In addition, the creation of the mapping table between the PLC and the Emulate3D model was automated, which significantly simplified the integration of the control system.

The collaboration took the form of an on-the-job training approach, ensuring that Frontmatec was actively involved in the model development.

Solution

Using Emulate3D, a digital twin of the conveyor system was created to emulate the control system.

This allows the PLC to be connected to the virtual model even before the actual system is commissioned. The control system operates as if it were communicating with the real system.

Key features of the solution:

• Emulation of the conveyor system in a virtual environment
• Direct connection of the PLC to the model
• Virtual commissioning of the system logic
• Reusable modules for future projects
• Automated generation of mapping tables

Thanks to the knowledge transfer during the project, Frontmatec is now able to create future models for emulation and virtual commissioning itself.

Results and benefits

Significant improvements were achieved right from the first project.

The most important results include:

• Significantly reduced on-site commissioning times
• Early testing and validation of the PLC code through emulation
• Reduction of risks during actual commissioning
• Higher quality of the control software
• More efficient project management for systems installed worldwide

Virtual commissioning using emulation is now an integral part of project implementation at Frontmatec.

In the next step, the company plans to further automate the creation of digital twins and to further improve the usability of the developed modules.

Other Projects