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Abstract—Due to the increasing integration of different

disciplines, Model-based System Engineering (MBSE) is

becoming more beneficial for the development of mechatronic

systems. However, even though all relevant discipline-specific

models can be integrated into one system model, how to maintain

consistency between a discipline-specific model and the central

system model during model updates still needs to be considered.

In this paper, an approach for automatic synchronization of a

discipline-specific model i.e. mechanical CAD model and the

central SysML-based model i.e. a SysML4Mechatronics plant

model, is introduced. AutomationML(AML), a data exchange

format which enables a lossless exchange of information between

different discipline-specific engineering tools, is applied during

the model synchronization. Mapping rules are proposed to

facilitate a consistent round-trip engineering and

transformation. Feasibility and applicability of this approach

are demonstrated through a use case on a production plant with

two applied commercial tools, PTC Integrity Modeler and Creo

Parametric.

Keywords—Model synchronization, Round-trip Engineering,

Data exchange, SysML4Mechatronics, MCAD, AutomationML,

Mechatronic system design

I. INTRODUCTION

Due to the increasing integration of different disciplines such as mechanics, electrics/electronics (e/e) and software, the development process of mechatronic systems is facing numerous challenges. Since changes in one discipline can also affect other disciplines, a cross-disciplinary exchange of information in the development process is necessary. In order to achieve an efficient engineering development process, relevant engineering information should be exchanged between different discipline-specific engineering tools. However, the specific data formats of different engineering tools impede an effective automatic information exchange [1].

Currently, the traditional development of mechatronic systems usually begins in the mechanics discipline [2]. The hierarchical structure of the mechanical computer-aided design (MCAD) model is regarded as the basic development framework and has a crucial influence on the further development of other disciplines. The structural information has therefore been the focused of the industry. As part of the structural information, the connection information between component interfaces in the MCAD model is particularly important in the development process. By using such connection information, the automatic placement of the 3D components can be realized. In addition, to facilitate the structure design and improve the reusability of 3D elements in MCAD model, a MCAD library that contains reusable 3D elements is required in industry [3]. However, most previous

H. Li, L. Tian and B. Vogel-Heuser are with Institute of Automation and

Information Systems, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany

researches of model transformation and semantic integration either do not focus on MCAD model or focus more on the geometric and kinematic information in MCAD model. Comparing to them, the focus of this paper lies more on the view of the MCAD model, especially the structural information and element library.

In order to enable an efficient cross-disciplinary concurrent engineering process based on MBSE, the integrated Systems Modeling Language (SysML)-based mechatronic model called SysML4Mechatronics plant model is established and then communicated with the other discipline-specific models [3] [4]. In order to keep the consistency of the models by updating a model in accordance with the other one, model synchronization based on round-trip engineering is required [5]. Based on round-trip engineering, we present an approach for automatic synchronization of structural information and element libraries between the SysML4Mechatronics plant model and MCAD models via a standard data exchange format AML to reduce the engineering effort and ensure consistency. The main contribution of this paper is the introduction of mapping rules that bridge the gap between an object-oriented SysML model and a detailed MCAD model during the model synchronization process.

The remainder of this paper is structured as follows: the requirements on model synchronization from an industrial perspective and the related works are discussed in section 2 und section 3 respectively. Thereafter, the concept of the model synchronization is described in the section 4. Subsequently, an implementation of this concept is described in section 5. A feasibility evaluation regarding the proposed requirements on commercial tools is presented in section 6. Finally, a conclusion and an outlook on the future works are given in section 7.

II. INTRODUCTION OF REQUIREMENTS IN

MACHINE AND PLANT MANUFACTURING (M&P)

In order to meet industrial requirements for automatic synchronization between SysML-based mechatronic model and MCAD model, the following requirements are determined in cooperation with our industrial partners from the domain of M&P.

A. Round-trip engineering for model synchronization (R1)

To ensure consistency between the two models during synchronization, round-trip engineering can be applied as a means of consistency maintenance [5]. By providing the bidirectional mapping, which is used for describing the relations between models symmetrically, a round-trip transformation is implemented for model synchronization.

(phone of H. Li:+49-89-289-16454; fax of H. Li: +49-89-289-16410; e-mail:

[email protected], [email protected] and [email protected])

Automatic Synchronization of Mechanical CAD Models and a

SysML-based Mechatronic Model using AutomationML

Huaxia Li, Long Tian and Birgit Vogel-Heuser (Senior Member IEEE)

CONFIDENTIAL. Limited circulation. For review only.

Manuscript 640 submitted to 2019 IEEE International Conference onSystems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC). Received April 25, 2019.

Through a round-trip engineering, the change of a model can be automatically updated to the other one.

B. Synchronization of the (a) Structural Information and (b)

Element Libraries (R2)

Because the structure of a mechatronic system is the basic framework for further development processes, one requirement of this paper is the synchronization of structural information. Additionally, because the discipline-specific engineers typically work on their individual models, the element libraries for improving the reusability of the model elements in different engineering models are usually created and updated separately by different engineers in their respective fields. In order to ensure that the information contained in the basic structure and the element libraries of both models is consistent and accurate, a synchronization between them after changing is essential.

C. Integration of Cross-disciplinary Data Exchange Format

(R3)

Based on practical application experience from industry, one of the main difficulties of model synchronization is determining the data exchange format [3]. Considering the entire development process of mechatronic systems, the data exchange format should not only support mechanical design tools but also engineering tools in the other disciplines. Additionally, it should be suitable for describing the structural information of mechatronic systems and the element library of different engineering models. Furthermore, it should be able to be applied commercially in M&P.

D. Industrial Applicability (R4)

For the applicability of the approach in industry, current industrial conditions with regard to the SysML-based model and MCAD model should be taken into account. It means that it is necessary to verify the application possibility of the proposed approach in the commonly used commercial tools of the both models. Therefore, a generalized concept is required that has to be widely applied in those commercial tools.

III. RELATED WORK ON MODEL TRANSFORMATION AND

SEMANTIC INTERGRATION

This section summarizes related work on model transformation and semantic integration of engineering models. Due to the increasing interdisciplinarity, MBSE is introduced to support the integrated development of mechatronic systems [6] [7]. By utilizing a system model, especially a Unified Modeling Language (UML)/SysML-based model, the discipline-specific engineering models and tools can be managed, transformed and analysed through a semantic data integration [8]. For example, Gausemeier et al. 2009 [9] use UML-based model and model transformation for ensuring the consistency of discipline-specific models in the early design phase. Thus, a number of research focus on model to model transformation between UML/SysML model and discipline-specific models. Paredis et al. 2010 [10] present a transformation specification to transfer modeling information between SysML and Modelica models. Shah et al. [11] provide an approach of building a multi-view based SysML profile for an electrical system and supporting model transformation from this SysML model to an electrical computer-aided design (ECAD) model in EPlan. Furthermore, Qamar et al. [12]

introduce a model transformation method to enable information exchange between SysML model and MCAD model in Solid Edge for dynamic analysis. The model transformation in these papers are built by defining the abstract meta-model rather than through the use of data exchange files.

Based on SysML, Koch et al. 2016 [13] define a new graphical domain-specific language for modeling parametric MCAD models of deep drawing tools. In addition to UML/SysML-based model, an automation component model is provided by Strasser et al. 2013 [14] as the system model in a MEDEIA framework, which includes the model transformation between the discipline-specific models and the system model. Furthermore, a framework called MeiA is introduced by Alvarez et al. 2018 [15] for control software development through model transformation using the data exchange format XML.

Based on XML, a standard exchange format named AML is developed and widely applied for interdisciplinary engineering information exchange in industry. Lüder et al. [16] provide a concept for enabling the automatic transformation of logic models by means of intermediate modeling layer (IML) and PLCopen XML (a part of AML). Moreover, Schleipen et al. [17] present a method of transforming the CAD drawing from AutoCAD to the other engineering tools by means of AML. It is a unidirectional method and only the converter from CAD drawing to AML is described in detail. In addition, the focus of this paper lies on the CAD planning data in 2D drawings rather than the structure information and the element library of a 3D model.

AML can be used not only as a data exchange format but also as an information basis. Hildebrandt et al. [18] define several semantic meta-models for the collaboration of the different views of mechatronic systems in AML. A rough concept of transforming the structural information from MCAD tools to AML in a high abstraction level is described. However, there is a lack of implementation of this concept. Through the use of the AML.hub and RobotStudio, Stark et al. [19] present a cloud-based approach to import and export the robot engineering data via AML with a use case in robot simulation tool. However, the hierarchal structure of the mechanical model is not taken into consideration in this paper. Furthermore, Thongnuch et al. present [20] an approach to merge the MCAD model and material flow behaviour model into a simulation model for virtual commissioning via AML. In combination with semantic web technologies, the hierarchical planning data in AML and kinematic information in CAD data can be transferred into an ontology using semantic mapping rules [21] [22].

A comparison of the described approaches with regards to the proposed requirements and considered discipline-specific models is given in table 1. None of them can fulfil all the requirements completely. Therefore, a concept of automatic synchronization between a SysML-based mechatronic system model and MCAD models, which can fulfil all requirements, will be presented in the next section.



TABLE I. COMPARISION OF EXISTING APPROACHES OF MODEL TRANSFORMATION AND SEMANTIC INTEGRATION

Ro

un

d-t

rip e

ng

inee

rin

g (

R1

) or

Bid

irec

tio

na

l T

ran

sfo

rmati

on

Syn

chro

niz

ati

on

of

the

Str

uct

ura

l

Info

rma

tio

n (

R2

.a)

Syn

chro

niz

ati

on

of

the

Ele

men

t

Lib

rari

es i

n B

oth

Mod

els

(R2

.b)

Inte

gra

tio

n o

f C

ross

-dis

cipli

nary

Da

ta E

xch

an

ge

Form

at

(R3)

Ind

ust

rial

Appli

cabil

ity

an

d

Acc

epta

nce

(R

4)

Dis

cip

lin

e-s

pec

ific

Mod

el

Paredis et al. 2010 [10]

x x x x

Dynamic

simulation and

analysis model

Shah et al.

2010 [11] x x x

ECAD model

Qamar et al.

2011 [12] x x

MCAD model;

Dynamic analysis

model

Koch et al.

2016 [13] x

Parametric

MCAD model

Strasser et al.

2013 [14] x

Control software

model

Alvarez et al. 2018 [15]

x Control software model

Lüder et al.

2010 [16] x x

Logic model

Schleipen et al.

2015 [17] x x

MCAD model

(CAD drawing)

Hildebrandt et

al. 2017 [18] x x

MCAD model;

ECAD model; Logic model

Stark et al.

2018 [19] x x

Robot simulation

model

Thognuch et al.

2018 [20] x x

Material flow

behavior model;

MCAD model; Simulation model

Glawe et al.

2016 [21] Glawe et al.

2018 [22]

x

MCAD Model

IV. CONCEPT OF AUTOMATIC SYNCHRONIZATION

In order to fulfil all the proposed requirements, a new concept of automatic synchronization between the SysML-based mechatronic system model and MCAD models is developed based on [3] and described in this section.

A. General Concept

For the purpose of explicitly modeling the discipline-specific and interdisciplinary dependencies of mechatronic systems, a SysML-based interdisciplinary modeling language named SysML4Mechatronics was developed by Kernschmidt et al. [23]. Three discipline-specific and one interdisciplinary blocks, which can be connected to each other through the three discipline-specific ports, are defined in order to describe a mechatronic system. Based on this, a SysML4Mechatronics plant model [3] is built for storing the engineering information coming from different disciplines. In order to maintain consistency and enable efficient synchronization between the SysML4Mechatronics plant model and MCAD models, a general concept using the round-trip engineering is provided and shown in Fig. 1. Due to its extensive support of engineering data exchange across disciplines and beneficial

applicability for modeling the structure and the element library [3] [24], AML is chosen as the data exchange format. It includes an InstanceHierarchy for describing the hierarchical structure of systems, a SystemUnitClasslib for storing pre-defined system elements and an InterfaceClasslib for storing the class of interfaces [24]. Through a mechanical AML file [3], the information that is required by the MCAD model can be extracted from the SysML4Mechatronics plant model automatically. Simultaneously, the same information should also be derived by the MCAD model automatically and then transferred into the SysML4Mechatronics plant model.

Figure 1. Concept of the automatic synchronization based on [3].

As seen in Fig. 1, the entire synchronization process consists of four single synchronization processes: two export processes from the SysML4Mechatronics plant model and the MCAD model, as well as two import processes into the SysML4Mechatronics plant model and the MCAD model. The main aims of each single synchronization process are derived from the proposed requirements and shown in Fig. 1.

B. Mapping between SysML4Mechatronics Plant Model,

AML and MCAD model

In order to facilitate automatic synchronization and ensure consistency during the synchronization, the general mapping rules for the SysML4Mechatronics plant model, AML and MCAD model need to be defined. Table 2 shows these mapping rules, which are further extended based on [3] and [25].

The composition of a SysML4Mechatronics plant model is shown on the left of Fig. 2. For the sake of clarity, only the structure model and the class library are interpreted in the following text and Fig. 2. To efficiently synchronize the hierarchical structure and simplify the synchronization of the libraries, the structure model and the blocks in class library in the SysML4Mechatronics plant model are mapped to the corresponding parts in AML and MCAD model respectively (Fig. 2). For this reason, the MCAD library, which contains the 3D components from the previous design, has to be classified according to the interdisciplinary module, mechanical component and e/e component. Because the MCAD model is not an object-oriented model and the interfaces for placement in MCAD model cannot exist without these components, a corresponding MCAD interface library

Synchronization

ProcessMain Aims of each synchronization process

Process 11. Generation of the mechanical AML file from the

SysML4Mechatronics plant model

Process 21. Synchronization of the libraries in both models

2. Generation or modification of MCAD model structure

Process 3 1. Generation of the mechanical AML file from the MCAD model

Process 4

1. Synchronization of the libraries in both models

2. Generation or modification of the structure model in

SysML4Mechatronics plant model

Process 1

Export

AutomationML

SysML4Mechatronics

plant model ( )

Process 2

Import

Process 3

Export

Process 4

Import

SysML4Mechatronics

plant model ( )

MCAD model

( )

MCAD model

( )



does not exist in the MCAD model (c.f. Fig. 2). In order to deal with this, the class information of each interface is stored in the MCAD library. The interface library in a mechanical AML file can then be derived by reading the information in the MCAD library (c.f. Fig. 2).

TABLE II. MAPPING RULES BASED ON [3] AND [25] (*TOOL-SPECIFIC RULES C.F. SECTION V)

SysML4Mechatronics

plant model

AML MCAD model

Package “Structure” InstanceHierarchy MCAD plant model

Instance of

Block/Module

(*Blockproperty)

InternalElement Component

(*Assembly/Part)

Port ExternalInterface Connection Interface

(*Component

Interface)

Connector InternalLink Placement

Property Attribute Parameter

Package “Block” in

“Class-Library”

SystemUnitClassLib MCAD Library

Package

“InterfaceBlock” in

“Class-Library”

InterfaceClassLib -

Block/Module in

“Class-Library”

SystemUnitClass Component in MCAD

Library

(*Assembly/Parts in

MCAD Library)

InterfaceBlock in

“Class-Library”

InterfaceClass -

Figure 2. Mapping among SysML4Mechatronics plant model, AML and

MCAD model based on [3].

The file path of each component and module in MCAD library needs to be added to the corresponding block and module as an additional property in the class library of the SysML4Mechatronics plant model and stored as attribute in the SystemUnitClasslib of the mechanical AML file. Through this method, a MCAD plant model can be generated automatically by calling the corresponding components in the MCAD library during process 2.

C. Conceptual steps of each single synchronization process

After determining the mapping, the conceptual steps of each single synchronization process in above proposed concept are provided based on following three basic rules and shown in Fig. 3:

Since an object-oriented modeling approach is applied to AML and SysML, processes 1, 3, and 4 follow the principle of object-oriented modeling using classes. This means that classes should first be defined before instances can be built. Therefore, the step sequence of these three processes should generally be the first to create or synchronize the interface class library, then the system unit/block class library, and finally the hierarchal structure of the mechatronic system.

For process 2 and 4, after importing the mechanical AML-file, the libraries of both models should first be synchronized. For newly created blocks in the class library of the SysML4Mechatronics plant model, the corresponding empty parts or assemblies must be created in the MCAD library during process 2. These can later be changed manually by mechanical engineers or replaced automatically after the mechanical design is completed in step “Modify the MCAD library” of process 3 (c.f. Fig. 3).

Because MCAD model is not an object-oriented model, the references between classes and instances needs to be saved in the MCAD plant model during process 2 through the step “Save the references between classes and instances” (c.f. Fig. 3).

Figure 3. Conceptual steps of each synchronization process.

V. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONCEPT

This section shows how the proposed concept can be implemented in the commercial tools. Each synchronization process will be described separately below.

A. Tool Support

As the first step of implementation, the application tools for the SysML4Mechatronics plant model and the MCAD model should be determined. In order to integrate the proposed

Save the references between

classes and instances

Input the mechanical

AML-file

Start

Output the MCAD

plant model

End

Synchronize the MCAD library

Create the InterfaceClassLib

Create the SystemUnitClassLib

Create the InstanceHierarchy

Start

Output the mechanical

AML-file

End

Input the

SysML4Mechatronics

plant modelModify the MCAD library



Create the InstanceHierarchy

Start

Input the MCAD

plant model


AML-file

End

Synchronize the InterfaceBlock

library

Synchronize the Block library

Start

End


AML-file

Create/Modify the

structure model

Output the

SysML4Mechatronics

plant model

Create/Modify the MCAD

plant model

Au

tom

ati

on

ML

MC

AD

mod

el

Sy

sML

4M

ech

atr

on

ics

pla

nt

mo

del

Au

tom

ati

on

ML

Sy

sML

4M

ech

atr

on

ics

pla

nt

mo

del

Process 1 Process 2 Process 3 Process 4



concept into an industrial toolchain, the selected tools should be in common use on the market. After discussion with our industrial partners, two commonly used commercial tools in M&P: PTC Integrity Modeler and Creo Parametric, which have been selected as the SysML-based mechatronic system modeling tool and the MCAD tool respectively, are used for the implementation of this concept.

In order to enable the automated exchange of data between the two tools, Automation Interface and Creo Parametic Toolkit are utilized. Automation Interface is a comprehensive Application Programming Interface (API) of PTC Integrity Modeler [26]. By programming in C#, the capabilities of PTC Integrity Modeler, such as import or export the AML file, can be expanded. In addition, the programming requires Microsoft Visual Studio and its integrated .NET development environment. PTC provides a ready-to-use Visual Studio solution with which the user can directly build and test functions. This makes it possible to access items in the SysML4Mechatronics plant model via the external C# programming code in Microsoft Visual Studio. Since AML also has an interface to the .NET framework, the model items can be more easily converted into AML elements. Similarly, the same can be achieved in Creo Parametric using the Creo Parametric Toolkit [27]. With C++ programming codes, a wide range of functions for MCAD design can be extended, automated and customized. By means of Automation Interface and Creo Parametric Toolkit, a program for each synchronization process in the concept can be built.

B. Implementation of the Concept

After determining the application tools, some tool-specific mapping rules are adapted and listed in brackets in table 3. It should be noted that there are different ways to place components in an MCAD model in practice. Therefore, an appropriate placement method has to be selected in Creo Parametric in order to more easily and clearly achieve automatic placement. After comparison with other methods, a method called Component Interface is applied because it can be mapped one to one to the corresponding port in the SysML4Mechatronics plant model. However, due to the high effort of the automatic setting of the Component Interfaces, these Component Interfaces have to be defined manually in each component of the MCAD library in advance.

Fig. 4-7 show the programs for four single synchronization processes in the form of a flowchart. The relevant functions are listed in each step. In the following, the main functions of each process are explained as an example in more detail.

(1) Function: CreateIHSys(): This function is the central function of the program “AML-

Exporter” (c.f. Fig. 4) in the Integrity Modeler. It is responsible for creating the InstanceHierarchy of the mechanical AML-file. After determining the root element, an iterative loop is used to pass through the child elements that are subordinate to the considered elements i.e. their parent elements. The child elements can belong to different stereotypes. Using a query of the corresponding stereotype, a distinction is made between three cases: module Blockproperty, discipline-specific Blockproperty or port. If it is a port, an ExternalInterface is created for the InternalElement. If the stereotype is discipline-specific BlockProperty (e.g. mBlockProperty), an

InternalElement is added under the parent element in the InstanceHierarchy. If it is a moduleBlockProperty, an InternalElement is also created under the parent element. Since these elements themselves also have an inner structure of child elements, a recursive call is made for them in addition to the creation of the InternalElement. This allows any level of detail of the installation structure to be run through. The loop for the processing of the inner structure of the parent element contains a query after each iteration run whether further child elements are available. If this is the case, the next iteration run is initiated. If the answer is negative, the internal links are created in the InternalElement of the parent element in the final step of CreateIHSys().

Figure 4. AML Exporter in PTC Integrity Modeler for synchronization process 1.

Figure 5. AML Importer in PTC Creo Parametric for synchronization process 2.

Create the

InterfaceClassLib

CreateInterfaceLib()

Create the

SystemUnitClassLib

CreateComponentLib()

CreateModuleLib()

Determine the root

element

DetermineRootObject()

Consider

the next

child element

Create the InternalElements and the

ExternalInterfaces for discipline-

specific component

CreateElement()

Create the

ExternalInterface

Addport4IE()

Create the

InternalElements and

the ExternalInterfaces

for module

CreateElement ()

Other child

elements

available?

Create the InternalLinks

CreateInternalLinks()

ModuleBlock

Property

Discipline-specific

BlockProperty

Port

Create the InstanceHierarchyCreateIHSys()

Yes

No

Stereotype?

Start

End

End

Start


AML-file

Input the

SysML4-

Mechatronics

plant model

Read the structure information

from the AML file

Domtree()

Compare all

child elements of the

MCAD model with the

AML file

Delete the elements

Consistent()

Is there any

child element?

Place the elements

ImportInternallink()

Create/Modify the MCAD plant model

CreateCAD()

Elements

exist in both

Elements only exist

in MCAD model

Elements exist only

in the AML file

no

yes

Load the

elements in

the library

Search the elements

in the MCAD library

Elementsearch()

Input the

mechanical

AML-file

Start

Start

End

Output the MCAD

plant model End

Create or load the root element

CreateRootelement()

Synchronize the MCAD library

bibmodify()

Save the references between classes and instances

CreateClass()



(2) Function: CreateCAD() This function is the central function of the program “AML-

Importer” (c.f. Fig. 5) in Creo Parametric. It creates or modifies a MCAD plant model based on previous structural information from the mechanical AML-file. The child elements of the root element are compared with the corresponding elements in the mechanical AML file one after the other. If the element only exists in the MCAD plant model, it will be deleted. If it only exists in the AML file, the element will be searched from the MCAD library and then loaded into the model. This process iterates until no more child element is found. After that, all existing components will be placed according to the connection information in the AML file so that a new MCAD plant model can be generated through this AML-Importer.

Figure 6. AML Exporter in PTC Creo Parametric for synchronization process 3.

(3) Function: CreateIHCAD() This function is the central function of the program “AML-

Exporter” (c.f. Fig. 6) in Creo Parametric. The goal of this function is to transfer the inner structure of a MCAD plant model into a mechanical AML file. Similar to the above described functions, it is an iterative process to determine all child elements of an element from top to bottom. The InternalElements and their Externalinterfaces can thus be created one after another. Then the references between classes and instances will be stored in the MCAD plant model. At last, the InternalLinks of each InternalElement will be added based on the placement information of the MCAD model. By means of this function, the InstanceHierachy of the generated AML file can be created by this AML-Exporter.

(4) Function: CreateStructure() This function is the central function of the program “AML-

Importer” (c.f. Fig. 7) in Integrity Modeler. It is used for creating the structure model of the SysML4Mechatronics plant model. Similarly to the CreateCAD(), after comparing the existing structure model with the InstanceHierachy of the imported mechanical AML file, all instances are handled depending on various conditions. It can either be left in the model, deleted from the structure model, or loaded from the

class library which is created by the functions CreateDSBlockLib() and CreateModuleLib() in the previous step “Synchronize the Block library”.

However, due to the high level of complexity, the automation interface does not support the changes in a diagram. Thus, this function can only enable the structure tree to be changed automatically without diagrams in PTC Integrity Modeler. Because the connector between ports can only be modeled through the diagram in PTC Integrity Modeler, the connectors also have to be added manually.

Figure 7. AML Importer in PTC Integrity Modeler for synchronization process 4.

VI. RESULTS OF THE FEASIBILITY EVALUATION

In this section, the crane of the Pick and Place Unit (PPU) will be applied to show the feasibility of the proposed concept. The PPU is a simplified lab-sized plant (c.f. Fig. 8) for sorting work pieces (WPs) of various types according to colour and material [28]. It consists of four main components i.e. stack, stamp, sorting belt and crane. The crane system is made up of a pneumatic monostable cylinder, a mechanical arm, a vacuum gripper and a turning table. The pneumatic cylinder lifts and lowers the system. The mechanical arm is installed with a vacuum gripper, which is used for gripping a WP. With the turning table as base, the crane system can rotate with the help of a motor that is attached. A potentiometer located at the bottom of the turning table detects the current position of the crane.

Figure 8. Application exsample: PPU.

Read the structure

information from the

MCAD plant model

addTrees()

Modify the MCAD library

bibsyncro()


CreateInterfacelib()


CreateSystemUnitlib()

Consider each

child element

Create the InternalElement and its Externalinterfaces

Add the references between classes and instances

CreateElement()

Create the InternalLinks

Createinternallink()

Is there any

child element?

yes

no

Create the InstanceHierarchyCreateIHCAD()

Determine the

root element

Start

Start

End

Input the

MCAD plant

model


AML-file End

Synchronize the InterfaceBlock library

CreateInterfaceBlockLib()

Synchronize the Block library

CreateDSBlockLib()

CreateModuleLib()

Delete the elementsElements only exist

in the AML file

Elements

exist in both

Compare all child

elements of the

SysML4Mechatronics

plant model with the

AML file

Elements only exist in

the SysML4Mechatronics

plant model

Start

Start

End

End


AML-file

CreateStructure()

Create new instances

Create/Modify the structure model

Output the

SysML4Mechatronics

plant model

CraneSorting

Belt

Stamp

Stack



The SysML4Mechatronics plant model of the crane can be synchronized with the MCAD model via AML (c.f. Fig. 9). The entire synchronization process is realized by round-trip engineering (R1 fulfilled). The AML, which supports the cross-disciplinary information exchange, is applied to transfer the modeling information between the SysML4Mechatronics plant model and the MCAD model (R4). During

synchronization, the structural information (c.f. ① in Fig. 9)

and element libraries (c.f. ② in Fig.9) of both models are updated automatically without any ambiguity (R2). For the sake of clarity, only the structure of the turning table, which is a part of the crane, is shown in more detail in Fig. 9. The four programs are built in Integrity Modeler and Creo Parametric respectively that enable the automatic synchronization of the two models (R5). The result of this feasibility evaluation shows that all the proposed requirements from the domain of M&P can be addressed by the proposed approach.

Figure 9. Implementation of the concept using Crane of PPU

Pro

ce

ss

2

Pro

ce

ss

1 MCAD modelin Creo Parametric

AM

L-E

xp

ort

er

AM

L-I

mp

ort

er

Au

tom

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on

ML

Sy

sM

L4

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VII. CONCLUSION AND OUTLOOK

In order to keep two models consistent during the system development, an approach for automatic synchronization based on round-trip engineering have been presented. By using proposed mapping rules, modeling information about the hierarchical structure and the element library can be transformed efficiently and consistently between the SysML4Mechatronics plant model and MCAD models via AML. The result of the evaluation within two commercial tools shows the feasibility and industrial applicability of the proposed approach.

In future work, this approach will be evaluated on other commercial engineering tools such as MagicDraw and CATIA. Moreover, this paper focuses only on structural information. A method with which the behaviour information can be transferred will be considered as the next step. Additionally, an industrial evaluation which requires testifying this concept on a case study with a real large scale industrial production system will be carried out.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We thank the German Research Foundation (DFG) for funding parts of this work as part of the collabrorative research center (CRC) 768 “Managing cycles in innovation process – Integrated development of product-service-systems based on technical products” (CRC 768/T3).

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