Asset Administration Shell

The Asset Administration Shell (AAS) is the Industry 4.0 data sheet of a component. It includes the manufacturer, product designation, technical properties and documents such as operating instructions. Manufacturers ship it as an AASX file. realvirtual WEB reads these files and shows their content next to the corresponding part. Hovering shows the product. The detail panel lists technical properties and opens manuals.

How a part finds its AASX

A part carries an AAS Link component. Its AAS ID is the identification written inside the AASX file, for example http://smart.festo.com/aas/99920200623113326000013225. The link names the shell, not the file, so you can rename or replace a file without touching the model.

The files themselves live in your project, in a folder called aasx next to the models:

my-project/
├── project.json
├── models/
└── aasx/
    ├── index.json          ← written by realvirtual WEB
    ├── 23_Festo.aasx
    └── 24_Festo.aasx

When you open the project, the viewer scans the aasx folder and writes index.json. This table maps every AAS ID to its file. You never edit it by hand. The viewer rereads only changed files and reads only the small part of each archive containing the identification. This keeps scans quick even for AASX files of a hundred megabytes.

Linking a part

1. Select the part in the Editor and add the AAS Link component.
2. Open the AAS ID field. It lists every shell in your project with its product name and file.
3. Pick the matching entry. To bring in a new file, use Import AASX…: the file is copied into the aasx folder and the link is set to its shell. If the file contains several shells, you choose which one.

A link to a shell that is not in the project stays visible in the field with a hint, so a missing file is easy to spot.

Sharing and delivery

The aasx folder is ordinary project content:

• Project export: the AASX files and the index travel inside the .rvproject file.
• Hosted delivery: a hosted project ships the folder as well. When the delivery is password-protected, the AASX files and the index are encrypted like the models, so the documents cannot be downloaded without the password.

Working with AAS parts in the viewer

When the open document contains a part with a readable AASX, the left button bar shows the AAS button. It displays the number of such parts, with the Order Cart button beside it. Without any readable AAS link, both buttons stay hidden. Both are available in every delivery, including hosted projects and HMI mode.

• AAS mode: click the AAS button to switch it on. Every AAS part is highlighted in blue and gets a small badge with its type code beside it. While the mode is on, only AAS parts react to the mouse, so you can hover and click your way from part to part. Click a badge to pin the data of that part. Click the button again to switch the mode off; it also ends when you load another model or switch to the Editor.
• Hover: shows the product, the first nameplate values and a one-line summary of the documents, for example 24 documents · Operating instructions, Full documentation +5.
• Pinned tooltip: click a part to pin its tooltip. It shows the Nameplate, the Technical Data and the Documents. Documents are grouped by kind — operating instructions and full documentation first, then declarations of conformity, catalogues, application descriptions, application notes, software and the rest. Each group is collapsed and shows its count, for example Application description (7); click it to open the list. A document that exists in several languages is one row in your interface language; the other languages are small chips at the end of the row and open that version.
• Order Cart: Add to Cart in the pinned tooltip puts the part into the cart with manufacturer and article number. The cart is not offered in the read-only Viewer mode.

Tips

• One file, several products: an AASX may hold more than one shell. Each one appears separately in the AAS ID list.
• Duplicate IDs: if two files contain the same AAS ID, the first file by name is used and a warning appears in the Problems panel.
• Built-in demo data: links to the realvirtual demo shells keep working without copying anything into your project.

See also

• Machine Information System overview
• Editor