Because the tempo of digital transformation accelerates within the manufacturing and engineering industries, two ideas have gained vital traction: digital twins and digital threads. Each ideas consult with digital representations of bodily objects, however they serve completely different functions and provide corporations distinctive benefits. Right here, we’ll examine digital twins and digital threads, and talk about potential use instances and advantages.
What are digital twins?
A digital twin is a digital duplicate of a bodily object or system, full with all of the design and operational information of the bodily object, together with geometry, efficiency information and habits fashions. The aim of a digital twin is to simulate the habits of apparatus in real-time, permitting engineers and operators to watch efficiency and determine system points/anomalies.
Digital twin expertise makes use of Industrial Web of Issues (IIoT) sensors, machine learning and simulation software program to gather product information and generate correct fashions. Groups can then use the fashions to foretell upkeep wants, simulate modifications to the system and optimize processes (e.g., security protocols, reporting procedures, manufacturing processes, and many others.).
For instance, a digital twin of a wind turbine can simulate the impression of adjusting wind pace and course on the turbine’s efficiency, serving to operators make knowledgeable choices about upkeep and power manufacturing.
Explore how digital twins can optimize the performance of your assets in a sustainable way
What’s a digital thread?
A digital thread is a digital illustration of a product’s lifecycle, from design to manufacturing to upkeep and past, offering a seamless circulation of knowledge that connects all points of the lifecycle. The aim of a digital thread is to offer a whole and clear view of producing techniques, enabling environment friendly collaboration and decision-making throughout all phases of the method.
Digital threads use quite a lot of applied sciences, together with computer-aided design (CAD) software program, product lifecycle administration (PLM) techniques and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, to gather and share information throughout workflows. Digital thread expertise optimizes traceability, offering a strategy to observe asset progress and be certain that all stakeholders are on the identical web page all through the manufacturing course of. For instance, aerospace corporations can create a digital thread to assist assemble plane with digital engineering. Manufacturing groups make the most of 3D-model-based techniques to ensure that plane are constructed precisely to engineering specs and depend on the digital thread to trace progress and determine points and inefficiencies throughout manufacturing.
What distinguishes digital twins from digital threads?
Each digital twins and digital threads make the most of digital representations of real-world belongings and processes, however they provide distinct capabilities.
Scale
Digital twins are scalable, however solely to a degree. Digital twin expertise collects real-time information from a single supply/asset. And though a digital twin idea can hook up with different twins to simulate total digital environments, they’re most helpful in evaluating a particular manufacturing surroundings. A digital thread idea, alternatively, is limitlessly scalable. Digital threads can hook up with (virtually) another enterprise system, together with digital twins.
As such, digital thread expertise could also be greatest fitted to operations and/or circumstances the place information have to be gathered from an array of departments, units, techniques and processes. Quite the opposite, digital twins will higher serve operations that rely totally on repetitive machine processes inside a particular manufacturing surroundings.
Information centralization
Each digital twins and digital threads centralize information to some extent. Each accumulate complete sensor information and combination and retailer that information in an simply accessible information hub. Nevertheless, digital threads allow groups to take information from digital twins and different sources and centralize the info circulation throughout departments and manufacturing silos in order that your complete firm can entry the identical data. Information connected to a digital thread additionally tends to be extra constantly correct, as a result of the automation options of a digital thread idea eradicate the necessity to manually transmit data between departments and workflows.
Advantages of digital twins vs. digital thread
Digital twins and digital threads assist organizations enhance system effectivity, scale back manufacturing prices, enhance product design and restrict system downtime. Nevertheless, the impression of every expertise will range relying on producer wants.
Digital twins enable producers to do the next:
- Interact in responsive monitoring in actual time
- Conduct proactive danger assessments and make the most of predictive troubleshooting for organizational belongings
- Speed up innovation utilizing digital fashions and digital mirroring
Digital threads assist producers within the following methods:
- Construct extra agile operations by facilitating a steady, synchronized information circulation
- Improve interdepartmental collaboration throughout belongings and techniques
- Optimize connectivity between manufacturing and engineering processes
- Streamline product improvement to cut back manufacturing time and get merchandise to market quicker
- Guarantee regulatory compliance by monitoring your complete product lifecycle, together with design choices, engineering modifications and upkeep information
Leverage IBM Maximo Software Suite in your digital transformation
Digital twins and digital threads are important instruments for corporations seeking to begin or speed up a digital transformation. Utilizing superior technological instruments like IBM Maximo will help organizations get there quicker.
IBM Maximo is a complete enterprise asset administration system that helps organizations optimize asset efficiency and streamline day-to-day operations. Utilizing an built-in AI-powered, cloud-based platform, IBM Maximo affords complete CMMS capabilities that produce superior information analytics and assist producers seeking to make knowledgeable choices about system efficiency and optimization.
Utilizing IBM Maximo software program—particularly as a complement to present enterprise useful resource administration (ERP) techniques or a producing execution system (MES)—will help your facility acquire a aggressive edge in immediately’s ever-evolving manufacturing market.
To find out how, book a live demo with an IBM expert