- For the example of digital twins in use
in the build or manufacturing phase
I will discuss an engineering firm
that was tasked with improving maintenance capabilities
on a production line for a capital goods company.
The objective of exploring the combination
of digital technologies and digital twins
specifically was to test different maintenance policies
for robots with welding guns on a production line.
Better maintenance equates to improved performance
and lower costs.
Three maintenance areas were identified:
schedule maintenance, condition based maintenance,
and predictive maintenance.
A single production line was used as a prototype.
To begin, the entire production line was modeled,
but to limit the scope of the project,
only certain parts of specific robots were identified
for the project.
These parts were areas where because of their function,
they were subject
to regular expected breakage and replacement.
After modeling and identifying the measurement areas,
IIOT sensors were deployed.
These sensors collected relevant data
and sent them back to a form that modeled digital twin.
This digital twin replicated the physical part
and immediately became a source of intelligence.
The intelligence was created
by feeding data from the digital twin
to a what if application.
These enable stakeholders to manipulate parameters
in order to run a simulation
and see the potential impact on maintenance
of the parts in focus.
Analysis included comparing scenarios
in addition to cost benefit analysis.
The project resulted in some positive outcomes.
These included educating management
on the role of digital technologies in a factory context.
Motivation to expand the project
to include more parts of the assembly line
in order to get even richer, more accurate results.
Understanding the return on investment possibilities.
And how digital twins can potentially result
in the reduction of costs for maintenance.