Method for computer assisted planning of a technical system

1. A method of computer assisted planning of a technical system comprising technical components, wherein the design of each technical component spans across a plurality of disciplines, comprising:

creating a first high level data structure by linking a plurality of multi-category objects MO comprising digital representations of objects and related sub-objects in the first high level data structure of multi-category objects to produce a common mechatronics objects instance structure M, each multi-category object MO describing a technical component of a technical system and comprising a plurality of facets A′, B′ . . . N′, each facet being of a different specific category from a plurality of categories representing each of the plurality of disciplines involved in the design of the technical component and referring to information about the technical component in the corresponding specific category of the facet, wherein each multi-category object MO is described in a higher level of engineering than in a corresponding discipline;

creating a plurality of second structures A, B, . . . N separate from the first high level structure M, each second structure A, B, . . . N being a discipline-specific structure of a different specific category from the plurality of categories enabling parallel use of the second structures and comprising linked category-specific elements, each category-specific element describing a technical component of the technical system with respect to the corresponding specific category,

establishing a relation between each facet A′, B′ . . . N′ of a specific category of each multi-category object MO describing a technical component in the first structure M and a corresponding category-specific element of the specific category describing the technical component in the corresponding second structure A, B, . . . N of the specific category, wherein each of the plurality of second structures A, B, . . . N is connected to the common mechatronics objects instance structure M respectively through the plurality of facets A′, B′ . . . N′;

wherein the common mechatronics objects instance structure M and the second structures A, B, . . . N are changeable by a user during planning of the technical system; and

keeping consistency in the common mechatronics objects instance structure M and the second structures A, B, . . . N via the relation when changes are performed by the user in the common mechatronics objects instance structure M or the second structures A, B, . . . N.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of categories comprises one or more of the domains mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, automation engineering.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the technical system refers to a plant or machine for fabricating a product, and wherein the technical components of the technical system include elements selected from the group consisting of plant units, machine units for manufacturing, processing the product, and a combination thereof.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the technical system refers to a product, and wherein the technical components are subunits of the product.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the facet of the multi-category object MO describing a technical component in the first structure and category-specific element of the specific category describing the technical component in the second structure of the specific category refer to the same object in that the category-specific element is integrated in its corresponding facet of the common mechatronics objects instance structure MO, thereby automatically providing the relation.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the facet of the multi-category object MO describing a technical component in the first structure and the category-specific element of the specific category describing the technical component in the second structure of the specific category comprise separate objects that are linked, the linking being established during a process of instantiating the corresponding facet in the common mechatronics objects instance structure MO, thereby providing the relation.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the facet of the multi-category object MO describing a technical component in the first structure and the category-specific element of the specific category describing the technical component in the second structure of the specific category comprise separate objects that are linked by using a reference from the multi-category object MO to the category-specific element and/or vice versa, particularly by using a unique identifier for the multi-category object MO and for the category-specific element, thereby providing the relation.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein consistency in the first and second structures is kept by synchronizing the changes performed by a user in one or more of the first and second structures with the other first and second structures.

9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the synchronizing is conducted directly after a change is performed or in regular time intervals or triggered by predefined events or triggered manually by a user.

10. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the synchronizing comprises the step of notifying changes performed by a user in one or more of the first and second structures to the other first and second structures.

11. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the synchronizing comprises the step of notifying changes performed by a user in one or more of the first and second structures to the other first and second structures.

12. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first structure is an instance structure comprising instances of multi-category objects MO.

13. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the second structure is an instance structure comprising instances of category-specific elements.

14. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second structures are provided by different category-specific software tools for planning technical systems.

15. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second structures are provided by one software tool for all structures.

16. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the technical components of the first and second structures are visualized and changed on a user interface that provides discipline-specific views of the technical components.

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a computer program directly loadable into an internal memory of a digital computer, comprising software code portions for performing, when run on a computer, a method of computer assisted planning of a technical system comprising technical components, wherein the design of each technical component spans across a plurality of disciplines, the method comprising:

creating a first high level data structure by linking a plurality of multi-category objects MO comprising digital representations of objects and related sub-objects in the first high level data structure of multi-category objects MO to produce a common mechatronics objects instance structure M, each multi-category object MO describing a technical component of a technical system and comprising a plurality of facets A′, B′ . . . N′, each facet being of a different specific category from a plurality of categories representing each of the plurality of disciplines involved in the design of the technical component and referring to information about the technical component in the corresponding specific category of the facet, wherein each multi-category object MO is described in a higher level of engineering than in a corresponding discipline;

creating a plurality of second structures A, B, . . . N separate from the first high level structure M, each second structure A, B, . . . N being a discipline-specific structure of a different specific category from the plurality of categories enabling parallel use of the second structures and comprising linked category-specific elements, each category-specific element describing a technical component of the technical system with respect to the corresponding specific category,

establishing a relation between each facet A′, B′ . . . N′ of a specific category of a multi-category object MO describing a technical component in the first structure and a category-specific element of the specific category describing the technical component in the corresponding second structure A, B, . . . N of the specific category, each of the plurality of second structures A, B, . . . N is connected to the common mechatronics objects instance structure M respectively through the plurality of facets A′, B′ . . . N′;

wherein the common mechatronics objects instance structure M and the second structures A, B, . . . N are changeable by a user during planning of the technical system; and

keeping consistency in the common mechatronics objects instance structure M and the second structures A, B, . . . N via the relation when changes are performed by the user in the common mechatronics objects instance structure M and the second structures A, B, . . . N.

18. The computer readable medium according to claim 17 , wherein the plurality of categories comprises one or more of the domains mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, automation engineering.

19. The computer readable medium according to claim 17 , wherein the technical system refers to a plant or machine for fabricating a product, and wherein the technical components of the technical system include elements selected from the group consisting of plant units, machine units for manufacturing, processing the product, and a combination thereof.

20. The computer readable medium according to claim 17 , wherein the technical system refers to a product, and wherein the technical components are subunits of the product.