An iterative procedure to integrate elastodynamic simulations and virtual commissioning of mechatronic systems: a machine tool case-study

The advent of Industry 4.0 highlights the significance of digitalizing production processes, as businesses increasingly rely on cost-effective digital simulations to evaluate new ideas and enhance competitive edges. The development of the Digital Twin of a machining center, made of operating stations hosting 3-axis modular units, is the long-term goal of a research project conceived to integrate simulations of the elastodynamic behavior of the mechanical hardware with the Virtual Commissioning of the overall mechatronic system. A flexible multibody model of the modular 3-axis operating unit was previously implemented and validated with respect to experimental data collected on a test rig. This work focuses on the development of the control model of the 3-axis machine specifically intended to enable co-simulation with the flexible multibody model, thus providing a comprehensive virtual replica of the modular operating unit and generating appropriate input data for the future integration with Virtual Commissioning simulations.