###### Abstract  
Stakeholders in the industry are increasingly using digital twins to take advantage of continuous digitization. The widely used methods for transferring partial models of digital twins within various heterogeneous systems rely on standardized, neutral file-based exchange. However, using differently implemented routines in the pre- and postprocessors of the systems engaged during data transmission leads to compatibility problems. Complete information transfer is not guaranteed, although potentially all information is available in the individual exchange file. To utilize the full potential of digital twins, this paper presents a method for directly adapting the content stored in an exchange file to systematically achieve compatibility. In the first step, we define a general structure to specify interrelated, nonconforming objects that are stored in the exchange file. We present five conditions that specify a compatibility problem in the following steps. On this basis, the applicant can solve various exchange problems for the indicated scenario in the third step. After explaining the approach in general terms, we demonstrate its generality by discussing two diverging use cases based on the exchange formats STEP and INP. We implemented the method in software terms, and the implementation indicates that this method can fix compatibility problems in an automated way.  
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Footnote †: journal: Applied Sciences  
doi: 10.1093/1.1111.11.11.11.11.11.11.1.11.1.1.11.1.11.1.  
have integrity if they meet or exceed requirements related to the user's expected quality. However, requirements are highly context-dependent. In general, we can summarize that integer data must be error-free, up-to-date, complete, self-explanatory, and reliable [13; 14; 15; 16].  
Providing and processing high-quality data still poses a severe problem, however. For instance, exchanging information between different systems is a frequent source of data quality issues. Moreover, the correct interpretation of an exchange file is not always possible despite the presence of all potential information. One leading cause for this is a deviating implementation of export and import routines in the pre- and postprocessors. This means that a preprocessor of a source system writes out conflicting information that the postprocessor of a target system cannot interpret correctly. Frequently, the standards on which the exchange format is founded merely represent framework conditions for implementation. A correct interpretation remains open to the system manufacturers involved. Adopting a transfer file to the requirements of a target system guarantees error-free import [17; 15]. Accordingly, this paper shows a general method for solving exchange problems by adapting the information stored in an exchange file to ensure that a postprocessor can interpret the file without compatibility errors.  
To demonstrate this method, we proceed as follows. Section 2 first explains basic information regarding data exchange and extraction, as well as regarding file formats used for transferring partial models. It also provides an overview of the Standard for the Exchange of Product Data (STEP) and Abaqus Input (INP) exchange formats. Section 3 describes the proposed compatibility improvement method. We first explain the three steps necessary to increase the compatibility of a transfer file. After providing an overview of the approach, we explain each step in detail. Section 4 outlines two use cases based on the INP and STEP formats explained in the previous sections. To validate the method, we implemented it in the form of a software solution, which is addressed in Section 5. This is followed by a discussion of the results in Section 6 and the conclusions in Section 7.