From Digital Twin to Digital Thread

Aras Systems Architecture Connects MBSE (Model-Based Systems Engineering) to Full Lifecycle Digital Thread. The new application brings together systems models from multiple tools into overall systems architecture.

Aras, provider of platforms for digital industrial applications, launched the release of Systems Architecture, a new application that coordinates systems model definition with tool independent data from all engineering disciplines including mechanical, software, electronics, simulation, and more. For the first time, a uniform view of all related systems models and their design intent is directly connected with the other aspects of the engineering process to form the digital thread improving collaboration and reducing risk. Organizations can now provide a uniform view of the overall systems model and its design intent across the entire enterprise. The Aras approach enables holistic analysis of systems-of-systems designs to optimize performance and identify undesirable emergent properties between sub-system boundaries. By having the systems architecture become a central connective tissue in the product’s Digital Thread, design and business risks are more easily mitigated.

A scalable, flexible, open solution

Systems engineers can select their modeling methodology and MBSE tool of choice. Aras Systems Architecture harmonizes incompatible system modeling methodologies, languages and tools – breaking down data silos – to enable creative freedom in Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE). By doing so, Aras accommodates emerging trends in systems modeling such as SysML 2.0 along with future breakthroughs in MBSE methodologies and tools. Aras delivers the most scalable, flexible and open solution for managing systems models. Aras Systems Architecture captures the descriptive parts of the systems model – often referred to as the Functional and Logical breakdown of a product – and connects them with other aspects of the design such as Requirements definition and Physical representations of the product, together called the RFLP (Requirements/Functional/Logical/Physical).

A system architecture-centric view of products

With the ever-increasing complexity of today’s smart connected products, organizations can now address interdisciplinary collaboration across the supply chain. Enterprises are now able to shift their focus beyond just mechanically-oriented physical structures and conventional Bill of Materials representations. Aras provides a system architecture-centric view of products with traceability to all related details, regardless of the tool used to create the model. Globally distributed teams are able to track functional and logical breakdowns of a product, as well as relationships to requirements, physical parts and other product data through a customizable systems model schema that is semantically rich.