Making additive manufacturers smarter via the digital twin

In the last decade, an exciting dynamic is propelling manufacturing towards 3D printing, or additive manufacturing (AM), writes Bill Davis of Siemens Digital Industries Software, discussing the digital twin.

From a machining perspective, additive manufacturing enables designers to consolidate components, leading to less expensive parts, superior reliability, increased durability, and creative design.

Also, from a smart manufacturing perspective, a comprehensive digital twin is essential for successful additive manufacturing because it encompasses more than just the actual additive process. The digital twin includes post-process machining along with several make-ready processes for industrial machinery assembly. Moreover, the digital twin encompasses electrical, software, and PLC programming. It is a multi-disciplinary approach to create a truly comprehensive digital twin, and it is critical to have the right software to manage it.

The digital twin is a holistic representation of a product, its performance, and processes for manufacturing it. It corresponds to everything that constitutes today’s advanced devices: mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, and fluid, including pneumatics, design domains, performance, and simulation of the product. Many software packages can simulate each of these domains and perform them well. Unfortunately, the manufacturers producing and packaging consumer products with industrial machines must accommodate the changing requirements of customers. This environment requires a robust emphasis focusing on flexibility and abbreviated development times.

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