With The Virtual Twin For Production 4.0

2023 Author : Hannah Pearcy | [email protected] . Last modified: 2023-06-01 01:49

A virtual image, called a digital twin, depicts the entire production process - you have heard and read about this plan over the past few months. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK are presenting their concept at the Hanover Fair 2017, which according to Professor Dr.-Ing. Rainer Stark from Fraunhofer IPK is no longer a vision. Real and virtual production merge into an intelligent overall system that can be controlled bidirectionally; Changes in the virtual twin are therefore forwarded to real production.

Picture gallery

The efficient control of production is one of the key technologies in industry. That sounds like the idea of building two factories in parallel instead of two at the same time, initially only after twice the effort. But if one of the factories only exists in virtual form, a virtual twin is created that not only visualizes the production system with all the machines, but also reproduces the dynamic processes and the behavior of the system components during production in real time.

Focus on sensors

The manufacturing process can be observed in detail in the virtual twin. Numerous sensors continuously report the operating status of the individual workstations to the system. This opens up new possibilities for controlling production. The production planners can analyze the manufacturing process in a virtual image and then optimize or reorganize individual steps if necessary.

Create knowledge with simulation

However, the concept of the digital twin goes far beyond simply depicting the real production plant. The system actually works bidirectionally. Because you can also intervene on the virtual level and make changes that can be simulated immediately. The changes in the real system can also be imported into the digital twin. For example, the production manager could activate additional machines for machining a workpiece or install an additional work step, for example if a custom-made product is required. The production does not have to be stopped and reconfigured, rather the system reacts intelligently to every change and reorganizes itself.

The entire system monitors itself

The fusion of real and digital production creates an overall system that monitors, controls and corrects itself during operation. Where necessary, machines and software communicate with each other independently of people, thus keeping production going. If, for example, a malfunction occurs, such as the failure of an aggregate, the system can independently decide how to fix the problem. The responsible production manager then sees the change in production, but does not have to intervene himself.

Engineering

How a gear meshes perfectly with the next

The quality of the workpieces and the end product can also be continuously monitored using the digital twin, which the system continuously feeds with data. The production of a small series with individualized individual pieces can also be implemented quickly using this concept, and in such a way that the overall production is only minimally impaired. Even the production of individual pieces (batch size 1 production) is conceivable through the use of product models for the generation of production models (e.g. NC code).

Virtual commissioning of new production facilities

Another advantage: The virtual twin can also be used in the design and construction of the production system. Even before the first real workpiece is machined, the production process can be simulated in advance, weak points identified and optimized. In this way, the system is virtually commissioned and tested before production. This speeds up planning and facilitates the commissioning of a new production plant.

The first pilot projects are expected soon

According to the Fraunhofer project, it provides a concrete example of how the Industry 4.0 megatrend can work. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rainer Stark, project manager at Fraunhofer IPK, says: "Our goal is not only to describe the central technologies, processes and methods of Industry 4.0, but to make them really tangible." The Fraunhofer expert and his team will soon want the first together with industrial partners Bring pilot projects to market maturity.

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Content of the article:

• Page 1: With the virtual twin for production 4.0
• Page 2: Fully compatible with industry standards

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