In many automation projects, the same pattern repeatedly emerges: new employees, junior technicians, or career starters are expected to quickly familiarize themselves with processes, procedures, and system logic, but they have hardly any suitable environment for this. Learning then takes place directly on the real system, which usually happens under time pressure during ongoing operations and often with little room for repetition or errors.

This is problematic in practice. Those who learn exclusively on productive hardware risk downtimes, unnecessary troubleshooting, loss of time, and in the worst case, even damage to the system. The result is often an onboarding process that is neither efficient nor predictable.

The cause is usually not a lack of qualification or motivation. Often, there is simply no training environment where processes can be taught safely, structured, and reproducibly.

This is precisely where training and validation twins come in. They create a realistic but controlled environment where typical processes, malfunctions, and logical connections can be trained and tested without interfering with production or risking real hardware.

Such a twin not only enables training but also diagnostics, testing, and preliminary commissioning under reproducible conditions. Learners can build process understanding, comprehend error patterns, and safely experience system responses. At the same time, companies gain an environment where knowledge can be systematically imparted, rather than merely transferred on a situational basis during daily project work.

Especially in industrial automation, this is a decisive advantage: training transitions from a risky side activity to a predictable component of qualification.

Together with our partner Conwex GmbH, we have developed a NexaTwin training twin of a measurement system. The goal was to provide an application with which typical functions of a conveying and handling system can be realistically simulated, tested, and trained.

For this purpose, the twin digitally maps central components of such a system, including conveyor technology, axes, sensors, pneumatic elements, and gripper functions. The model is supplemented by a PLC interface via PLCSIM Advanced, so that connection to typical PLC structures can also be implemented in a practical manner.

From now on, the Conwex twin is available in two versions on the NexaSwift Marketplace. The first version is a free preview twin, which is particularly suitable for a quick technical check as well as for performance and system tests. The second version is the Unlimited version as a training twin. It is designed for practical training, diagnostics, and virtual commissioning and includes the PLC connection.

Thus, depending on the objective, either a low-threshold introduction or a full-fledged training environment is available.

The concrete added value of a training twin is particularly evident when learning is not only theoretical but also takes place based on real process flows. Users can train typical PLC functions under practical conditions and understand how signals, states, and interlocks react together.

Interconnected processes from conveyor technology, handling, and peripherals can also be comprehensively mapped in the model. These include, for example, release chains, accumulation and interlock logics, pneumatic stoppers and cylinders, or gripper functions within a handling process. This provides learners with a significantly better understanding of processes, dependencies, and error causes.

Furthermore, the twin is suitable for tasks in drive technology and in handling technology objects. Releases, axis logics, and typical error reactions can be practiced in an environment that simulates real project conditions without creating real risks.

Another important aspect is diagnostics. Typical error patterns, such as in sensors, releases, or drive communication, can be specifically generated, recognized, and rectified. Functions such as workpiece carrier tracking via RFID can also be trained comprehensibly. This makes the twin relevant not only for training but also for testing and validation tasks.

For companies, the main advantages are predictability and cost-effectiveness. Training in a virtual environment is often significantly more efficient than training on real hardware. Systems do not have to be blocked, productive processes remain undisturbed, and training measures can be prepared and carried out independently of project phases.

At the same time, the risk that onboarding under time pressure leads to avoidable errors, rework, or unnecessary delays is reduced. Knowledge can be conveyed systematically instead of being passed on only sporadically during project operations. This accelerates the qualification of new employees and creates more confidence in handling typical automation tasks.

This is a relevant lever, especially for companies that want to systematically develop junior staff or introduce junior personnel more quickly into demanding technical environments.

Inexperienced staff is rarely the actual problem. What is decisive is whether an environment exists in which learning can take place effectively. If training is only possible directly on the real system, pressure, uncertainty, and unnecessary risks are almost inevitable.

A training twin shifts this learning process into a safe, reproducible, and technically robust environment. This is precisely its value: it creates better conditions for qualification, diagnosis, and testing, while simultaneously easing the burden on real operations.

With the twin developed jointly with Conwex, a concrete solution is now available that can be directly integrated into training and testing contexts.