Demo: Digital Twin of a Glulam Production
Digital twins are a state-of-the-art tool to analyze material flows and capacities in production processes. This demo model of a small glulam production facility gives an idea about the use of simulation in that context. The digital twin allows to analyze performance KPIs of the facility, the effect of changing facility parameters and the impact of historic data on raw material supply and customer orders. The model supports decisions concerning facility configuration and daily production planning.
Animation
Animations of the processes are a crucial part of our simulation models. A simple animated presentation gives an overview about the activities and allows the viewer to quickly understand or verify the processes – even without a remarkable IT background. The animation allows to compare worker activities, material flows or machine and buffer utilizations to the observations and expectations from day-to-day operations.
The subsequent video shows the movement of glulam lamellas before and after the finger jointing process, their way into an intermediate storage and further into the glulam press. The pressed glulam is conducted through a planer to a cutting saw and finally to a commissioning area. The movements of staff (orange circles) and forklifts can also be observed in the animation.
Parameterization and Analysis
Digital twins are the ideal tool to digitally test scenarios to obtain insights and a methodically sound basis for important decisions. Thus, real data is a crucial component of every simulation model. The required data can include process descriptions, production data, process durations, decision and priority rules or staff and vehicle usage. Data and input parameters can be adapted within the user interface and further be tested and analyzed with the digital twin.
Advantages of digital twins in production
- Quickly get a sound basis for important decisions
- Evaluate optimization measures
- Avoid mistakes and poor decisions in advance
- Evaluate possible investments
- Make improved decisions
- Stay competitive through digitalization