Industrialization has taken different directions since its inception in the early 18th century. First came steam and the first machines that mechanized some of the work our ancestors did. Followed by electricity, the assembly line and the advent of mass production. The third era of industry came about with the development of computers and the beginnings of automation, when robots and machines began to replace human workers on those assembly lines. And now we enter Industry 4.0, in which computers and automation will come together in an entirely new way, with robotics connected remotely to computer systems equipped with machine learning algorithms that can learn and control the robotics with very little input from human operators.The digitalization of the production process has made manufacturing a complex phenomenon. Companies are not sure which technology to adapt to overcome competition. I will be talking about one of those new technologies, ‘The Digital Twin’.
The digital twin has completely transformed the manufacturing process. The ability to handle enormous amounts of data and process them has made it one of the top choices for large-scale, capital-intensive manufacturing units. It can allow them to have digital replicas of their product, the process they follow, the equipment they use and the way their products are used. It’s nothing related to CAD, or any other graphic-designing app. It’s based on real-time,real-world data and gives digital prototypes so firms could work on them without dismantling the product.
The digital twin can enable companies to solve physical and technical issues faster by detecting them sooner, predict outcomes to a much higher degree of accuracy, design and build better products, and, ultimately, better serve their customers. With this type of smart architecture design, companies may realize value and benefits faster than ever before.
As the figure explains, the digital side is the exact replica of the physical side which can help the company to reconsider the process, the components and everything linked to the product they use for manufacturing, if they can find a better way. It can help them come up with a better way of assembling, manufacturing or even reduce the cost by eliminating some components and experimenting it digitally.
Do you wanna be part of our family, get secret updates & free content? The more the merrier ;-)