Expect Easy Simulation of Drives with SINAMICS DriveSim Basic

With SINAMICS DriveSim Basic, Siemens presents a new software solution, where drives and their behavior in machines and plants can be simulated, adapted and optimized. Siemens says it offers this as a quick and easy entry into the drive simulation and enables machine and plant manufacturers to accelerate their development phase.

SINAMICS DriveSim Basic is designed to bridge the gap between logical and mechanical simulation, SIemens says. The application focus is on simulation support of the customer application, (the components that interact with the drive). The simulation provides answers to drive questions even before a concrete product selection has been made. For the virtual commissioning of the PLC control with known Profidrive telegrams or complex mechanics on the virtual drive shaft, the model provides a representation of the drive system in the required level of detail.

One possible application scenario is the coupling of the PLC and the mechanical model via SINAMICS DriveSim Basic. The calculated load profiles can then be loaded into the TIA Selection Tool or SIZER and a drive selection can be made. The required drive parameters and interfaces known from the real world are available for the simulation.

Users configure only the part of the drive that is needed for simulation purposes—and a complete virtual commissioning of the drive is not required. The models in SINAMICS DriveSim Basic link to the existing drive documentation and have been validated against real SINAMICS drives using the same test vectors.

For easy handling, SINAMICS DriveSim Basic is available as a standardized Functional Mockup Unit (FMU) model. The software offers the same FMU file for every SINAMICS drive. For example, SINAMICS S120 and G120 drives including the motor can already be represented. Additional drives will follow.

This FMU can be imported directly into the simulation program used. SINAMICS DriveSim Basic is compatible with many commercially available simulation programs, such as Simit, Simcenter Amesim, NX Motion or Matlab Simulink. Together with other virtual Siemens solutions such as SIMATIC S7 PLC SIM Advanced or NX Mechatronics Concept Designer, a consistent model-based development process can be implemented.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.