Plant Simulation User Day 2022 in Berlin
What a day!
On Monday, May 30th 2022, the worldwide community of Tecnomatix Plant Simulation users gathered in the Estrel Hotel, in Berlin, Germany. This was the first in-person meeting after two years of virtual conferences and working from home. More than 150 participants from Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Far East not only followed the presentations, but they also enjoyed conversations during breaks and meals.
As the Siemens Plant Simulation Team moved their offices to new premises in Stuttgart, the previous conference locations were no longer an option. So we decided to move to Berlin, thus connecting it to Realize LIVE Europe, where Siemens partners, experts and customers also came together from May 31 until June 2. There the latest information on the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio, which includes Tecnomatix Plant Simulation, and discuss digital transformation was shared. A good number of users has welcomed the chance to participate at both events with a questions and answers round. Another opportunity was a stop at the Hannover Messe, the leading industrial fair in Hanover, Germany, which opened on the same day and closed on June 2. The highlight showcase there was an all-electric car, that showed how to combine the real and digital worlds.
What´s new in Plant Simulation?
In his keynote, Dr Georg Piepenbrock, Product Manager for Tecnomatix Plant Simulation at Siemens Digital Industry Software (Siemens DI), gave an overview of the past development, the current situation, and the goals for the future. This was not limited to technology alone. Tecnomatix Plant Simulation is successfully used in all major industry segments, stretching from Industrial Components to Automotive Suppliers and OEMs to Consumer-Packaged Goods. This is also reflected by the club30 plus, an aggregation of user case studies with more than 30 percent benefit in specific areas.
Major features released
The current Plant Simulation Release 2201 shows a fresh-up of the graphical user interface with the same color scheme and icons adapted to the related manufacturing tools from the Siemens DI portfolio. The large number of less visible enhancements is divided into the areas of PLM collaboration and keeping the lead in material flow simulation. Only one example: Plant Simulation is now also available as a hybrid SaaS solution that enables a connection to Teamcenter Share.
Wide range of themes on two tracks
Afterwards, the visitors could choose one of two parallel offers. Partners presented offers such as notebooks for presentation, virtual reality visualization of plant simulation scenarios with more3D or an STS library. New use cases from scientific research, such as data farming with Plant Simulation and SimAssist, were presented. How digital twins can increase the sustainability of container terminals in the Port of Hamburg was demonstrated by the consulting company HPC: Superfluous electricity in the battery clusters of AGVs is fed back into the power grid.
Inspiring use cases
Plant Simulation users filled a large part of the program with current lectures. Fully automated simulation model application and digital transformation was presented by THK Manufacturing of America. Electrolux informed about how they accelerate model development, robustness, and accuracy through custom libraries. Libraries were also taken up by the Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite, and Processing Technology, in this case for battery manufacturing. Another presentation of Siemens Advanta Consulting showcased digital planning and optimization of an automotive battery production.
Virtual commissioning, logistics projects and internal warehousing were covered, as well as plants connected with digital twins. Do you know how chocolate is industrially produced? If not, you have missed out on something really interesting. We all hope, that in-person conferences and user days like this will be repeated in the future. They provide more than just information!
