How a Digital Twin Can Help Your Manufacturing Company
A digital twin, a virtual replication, is a digital replication of a living or non-living object. You might also describe a digital twin in production as an ever-evolving digital picture of a physical machine, process, or product’s historical and current action or status, just like the real thing.
A digital twin, a virtual double, is a digital reproduction of a living or non-living object. You might also describe a digital twin in production as an ever-evolving digital picture of a physical machine, process, or product’s historical and current action or status, just like the real thing.
How is it working?
The sensor technology that allows us to collect information and data points from a wide range of machines and processes has been introduced by Industry 4.0. These data points are transmitted to devices to see what is happening within our operation in real-time. It can also create a virtual duplicate-a digital twin-of that asset.
Early on, we realized that monitoring machines with sensors allowed us to see unexpected modifications. For example, it may detect a slow or sudden rise in the temperature of a bearing. Then we should have a repair technician go to the machine and see what could make the direction hotter and determine what to do about the scenario.
Sensors have helped minimize unplanned catastrophic failures and enhance our machines’ reliability, pushing up measures of utilization and performance. We switched from reactive to predictive management maintenance.
The next move was to get data from all parts of equipment and processes, process the information with powerful computers and algorithms, and create a digital twin of the asset.
A digital twin offers the chance in real-time to see any shift or deviation, allowing us to react and interfere when necessary. This helps to increase the quality of goods and brings down prices.
Digital twins are not just for major manufacturers with strong money. They can also support small or medium-sized companies (SMEs). For instance, you could start building a digital twin of that system if you have a mission-critical HVAC system, such as in food processing. Start small and see which systems or regions may gain from your company, then build more digital twins.
You want to ask some serious questions while looking for a digital twin solution provider:
- How many twin digital ventures did they implement?
- What are the project sizes they have completed?
- Are they capable of helping you grow to involve your whole business from a small project?
- What processes of quality assurance do they use, and how do they make sure they work?
- After implementation, are they capable of handling the device, or do they hand you the key?
- What other stuff do they bring with them?
- Will they have their software for sensors and communication?
- Will the implementation handle them?
- Do they bring stuff like capabilities for virtual, augmented, or mixed-reality?
- What service are they going to have if you take over after implementation?
- What are their present clients and former clients?
- Can you communicate with clients from the past?
- Are they going to encourage you to see those twin digital ventures in action?
Speak to more than one service provider, as in any project. Invite at least three to provide them with a comprehensive timeline, cost model, and expectations of ROI
Remember to start small if you plan to switch to a digital twin, maybe with your HVAC system or your machining department. Don’t attempt to digitize the whole enterprise at once. Learn by taking small steps and by consciously going. With both eyes closed, do not jump into this. How do you eat an elephant, remember? One morsel at a time.
You can recognize additional assets and quickly extend your system until you see the advantages of a digital twin and your ROI.
- Enhancement of Procedures
- Creation of Goods
- Improvement of Goods
- Improvement of the supply chain
Don’t think of twin-digital technology as another CAD modelling program. Alternatively, it helps you to gather knowledge on the digital twin and then adapt the prototype or new approach to what you discovered on the digital twin. Before passing what you learned to the asset, the digital twin helps you to exploit and evaluate, keeping downtime and development time low and performance rates high.
The true promise of the digital twin lies therein. Not only would it drive the company forward, but it will propel it into an environment where you can build and deliver your customers with personalized low-volume goods without adding costs, sacrificing operating performance, or growing timelines. You may be given an advantage over your competition by digital twin technology.
Digital twin software has great potential. However, remember to start slowly and partner with a specialist in the field before taking full advantage of it.
