contact
Design Engineering Use Case

Provide Technical Data in a Structured Format – Design Engineering Without Media Discontinuities

In design engineering, quick access to reliable technical data and 3D models is key to efficiency, quality, and time-to-market. However, CAD data is often scattered, incomplete, or stored in various formats. As a result, design engineers waste time on research, coordination, and modification work.

Fluid 4.0 provides standardized access to verified, version-controlled 3D data through the Asset Administration Shell. Manufacturers make models available in a structured format. Integrators can access these directly, regardless of vendor, and without media discontinuities. The result is a seamless digital engineering process chain.

Why Frag­mented CAD Data Slows Down Develop­ment Pro­cesses

In plant and machinery engineering, 3D design is a central component of system development. In practice, however, CAD models of components are often unavailable, incomplete, or available in various formats.

Design engineers must spend considerable time searching for data, requesting it from manufacturers, or manually modifying models. Fragmented data sources, inconsistent naming conventions, and unclear versioning lead to media discontinuities, integration issues, and delays. The high level of coordination and administrative effort ties up skilled personnel, increases error rates, and directly impacts development time, costs, and quality.

The Digital Twin as the Central Gateway to 3D Models

“The digital twin is a huge help in managing the constant flood of information. Before, I had to register separately with every manufacturer and supplier. Now, with the Asset Administration Shell, I have a central hub and immediate access to all current data—and thanks to clearly structured submodels, I can quickly find all the information I need. That’s everything from CAD data to usage data that provides valuable insights for improving my designs. This saves me a lot of time right from the research phase, enabling me to focus completely on my actual work.”

Nick Yang, Junior Design Engineer

Structured 3D Data as the Foundation for End-to-End Engineering

Structured 3D data provided through the Asset Administration Shell, together with the “Provision of 3D Data” submodel, enable CAD information to be uniquely referenced, versioned, and contextualized. Manufacturers provide their data in a standardized and interoperable format, while integrators can directly access verified, up-to-date models. This reduces friction along the entire engineering process chain.

Benefits for Manufacturers
  • Reduced support and deployment costs through standardized data transfer
  • Reusable, consistently maintained CAD models across various projects
  • Fewer follow-up questions and misunderstandings during integration
  • Vendor-independent, interoperable integration into customer processes
  • A solid foundation for end-to-end digital product life cycles
  • Reduced support and deployment costs through standardized data transfer
  • Reusable, consistently maintained CAD models across various projects
  • Fewer follow-up questions and misunderstandings during integration
  • Vendor-independent, interoperable integration into customer processes
  • A solid foundation for end-to-end digital product life cycles
Want to take advantage of these benefits for your machines or systems? Talk to us about spe­cific use cases, discuss technical details, and explore some possible next steps. Feel free to contact us with no obli­gation. We’ll show you how the Asset Adminis­tration Shell can streamline your design engineering workflow.

How the Standardized Provision of 3D Models Works

Structured delivery of the Asset Administration Shell (AAS) and the “Provision of 3D Models” submodel. First, physical components are instantiated using an AAS, which contains all relevant metadata regarding the 3D geometry. The “Models3D” submodel stores metadata such as file paths, version, format, intended use, and references to online data sources, supplemented by file format information and semantic classifications.

CAD tools or repositories access this AAS via standardized interfaces (including REST) and load the appropriate files directly into the design process. SDKs and data space services support discovery, plausibility checks, and consistent integration of data into a wide variety of tools.

Additional services such as viewers or automated integration plugins facilitate the embedding of 3D models into the system landscape and create a seamless, vendor-independent engineering process chain.

Technical Architecture and Standards Used

  1. Physical component is assigned a unique AAS instance
  2. Integration of the “Provision of 3D Models” submodel (IDTA 02026-1-0)
  3. Storage of structured metadata:
    • File format (e.g., STEP, JT, native CAD)
    • Versioning
    • life cycle context
    • Access path/URL
  4. Access via CAD systems through standardized interfaces
  5. Automated selection and integration into the engineering workflow
  • Unambiguous mapping of physical products to ↔ 3D data
  • Standardized, semantically described data structure
  • Vendor-independent access
  • Version transparency and life cycle context
  • AAS repository/registry
  • CAD integration plugins
  • Viewer for visualization
  • Validation and consistency services
PDF, 660 KB
PDF, 2.5 MB

See Asset Administration Shells in Action

Using selected fluid power products as examples, we demonstrate how design engineering information is stored in a structured manner within submodels of the Asset Administration Shell. The examples are intentionally generalized so that the concepts shown can be applied to different products, systems, and workflows.

You may also be interested in:

Interested in the Solution or a Further Discussion?

Fluid 4.0 thrives on collaboration between industry, research, and end users. If you’d like to learn more, get involved, or share your own ideas, we look forward to hearing from you.