Extending mechatronic objects for automation systems engineering in heterogeneous engineering environments

Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary field of engineering combining disciplines like mechanical, electronic or software engineering, in order to design and manufacture useful products. Nowadays, mechatronic engineering is well-supported either by using integrated tool suites providing a homogeneous approach to engineering, or by relying on established tool chains consisting of a set of engineering tools connected using a common data exchange format. However, in practice neither tool suites nor tool chains have become a de facto standard in engineering, leading to tedious and often manual integration efforts required to combine specific engineering tools or tool suites. This paper presents an engineering tool integration framework that allows the definition and usage of mechatronic objects originating from heterogeneous engineering tools, so-called “engineering objects”. These engineering objects can additionally include project and organizational information, thus enabling exhaustive engineering process management and monitoring. The presented approach is evaluated in an industrial case study from the hydro power plant engineering domain. Major results are engineering objects that can include heterogeneous data, such as project or organization-specific information, thus enabling automated and therefore more efficient synchronization between the involved engineering disciplines, as well as added-value applications, like project monitoring or quality assured data import and export.