How will manufacturing change if factories are "cloned" into the cloud?

How will it change to "clone" a factory to the cloud and realize all the production functions in your mind to guide the actual production?

In recent years, the word "digital twins" has attracted much attention in industry forums and summit discussions. Today, with the rapid development of modern industry, digital twins play an important role in the development of science and technology and modern industry, and become the industry focus and future trend. In the process of manufacturing, the use of digital twin system technology to realize the optimization and upgrading of the industry will boost China's intelligent manufacturing to a higher level.

In this issue, Risun smart manufacturing expert will answer why the manufacturing industry needs digital twins from three aspects: content, value and application?

01 What is digital twins？

As a cutting-edge technology, digital twin is a concept that transcends reality and can be regarded as a digital mapping system of one or more important and interdependent material production factors. In short, digital twin system can create a digital "clone" on the information platform according to the basis of personnel, equipment or system. And this "clone" can simulate the development trend of actual equipment or system.

The essence of digital twins is information modeling, which aims to build a completely consistent digital model for entity objects in the real world in the digital virtual world. However, the information modeling involved in digital twins is no longer based on the traditional underlying information transmission format.

There are four main characteristics of the digital twin system:

(1) Virtual real mapping: Digital twin technology requires the construction of digital representation of physical objects in digital space. Physical objects in the real world and twins in digital space can realize bidirectional mapping, data connection and state interaction. Convert the historical data of manufacturing industry into digital display, build a cloud factory, and realize data exchange online and offline, so as to simulate production and guide production;

(2) Real time synchronization: Based on the acquisition of multiple data such as real-time sensing, twins can comprehensively, accurately and dynamically reflect the state changes of physical objects, including appearance, performance, position, abnormality, etc. In daily production, once it occurs, it will inevitably affect the production efficiency, and all the problem points will be exposed in the simulation operation. Is it not an effective solution to the problem of cost reduction and efficiency increase to avoid the risk points before implementation?

(3) Symbiosis and evolution: in an ideal state, the mapping and synchronization state realized by digital twins should cover the whole life cycle of twin objects from design, production, operation to scrap. Twins should evolve and update with the life cycle process of twin objects. The manufacturing industry needs innovation, and the cost of innovation is unpredictable. Of course, success is happy, and failure may bring huge pressure on cash flow. Therefore, the symbiotic evolution brought by digital twins has become very critical;

(4) Closed loop optimization: the ultimate goal of establishing twins is to analyze laws and insight trends by describing the internal mechanism of physical entities. Based on analysis and simulation, optimization instructions or strategies are formed for the physical world to realize the closed-loop decision-making optimization function of physical entities.

02 The function of digital twins

Is digital twinning of great technical significance to China's intelligent manufacturing? Why does it affect the development of the fourth industrial revolution? What benefits can it bring to traditional industries?

There are five main functions:

1. Visualization and transparency: immersive, more cognitive data presentation, providing intuitive and sharp production insight.

2. Historical playback and problem tracing: key production processes are automatically recorded, and managers can click on key points for intuitive playback.

3. Positioning of all production factors: the three-dimensional positioning of personnel, materials, flows, equipment, etc., outlines the overall picture of a single factor, and allows you to view the changes of a single factor more intuitively and attentively.

4. Production alarm: problem alarm, more intuitive and accurate spatial positioning.

5. Image display and sales promotion: the whole process of fabric warehousing, cutting, sewing and post packaging, real mirror digital reproduction, has become a highlight of brand image construction inside and outside the factory.

Using digital twin technology, through continuous collection and intelligent analysis of operation data, it realizes risk pre assessment, basic data prediction and real-time control of production time and efficiency, so as to realize the actual landing of business items such as prediction, monitoring, coordination and decision-making.

Digital twin has brought obvious efficiency improvement and cost reduction to industrial manufacturing, making almost all industrial giants flock to it and become one of the leading technologies in the industrial 4.0 era.

03 Risun's application of digital twins

Risun intelligence continues to specialize in intelligent manufacturing integrated system solutions, while upgrading technology in the original MES system and big data integration system. AI digital twin enabling platform developed by Risun intelligence has achieved initial results.

Risun intelligent AI digital twin enabling platform is summarized from a large number of customer demand research and landing service experience. Aiming at the characteristics of the textile industry (clothing) such as variable production processes, complex processes, multiple varieties and small batches, according to the sequence of data flow from physical entities to digital twins, a digital twin system is built, including data intelligent perception, multi-source heterogeneous integration, efficient data transmission, digital twin modeling Enhance interaction, transform applications, etc., connect ERP, PLM/PDM, SCM and other related information systems, and interact with the production system in real time.

Digital twin technology establishes the mechanism of real-time perception and dynamic optimization of various production factors such as materials, equipment and personnel in the production process. Risun intelligent AI digital twin enabling platform constructs the interaction and integration between the physical world and information space in the manufacturing environment, as well as the real-time intelligent detection and early warning of the health status of production equipment, so as to realize the management and control of garment production and digitalization of decision-making.