Four speakers approached the topic in different ways:
Steffen Klarmann from Valeo described the path to the digital production twin. The biggest challenge is the immense amount of data that has to be collected and evaluated for his company in the manufacturing processes. Nevertheless, Valeo sees advantages in the digital twin. For example, weak points in production will be easier to identify and eliminate in the future, or even before production starts.
BMK professional electronics is exploring the potential of digital twins for electronic assemblies that are produced in small numbers and with great variability. Dr.-Ing. Richard Scheicher reported in particular on functional testing, which requires different programs and routines - and thus a rapid change in testing requirements.
Anton Fritsch from ITQ made it clear that, above all, a change in management thinking is necessary: classically, one looks at a machine that is equipped with software. Today, it is necessary to see that it is about software for which there is also a machine. It is necessary to think in terms of functions and processes and no longer in terms of concrete systems.
Dr. Stefan Scheifele presented solutions from ISG Industrielle Steuerungstechnik: The integrated simulation platform ISG-virtuos with which production systems are checked and optimized even before the actual commissioning. Optimizations in this phase can be carried out much faster and, above all, cost-efficiently, since they are not associated with a production downtime due to the standstill of a physical machine. He also discussed the Twin Store Community, an association of companies whose goal is to facilitate access to digital twins through standardized components. This creates libraries from which users can assemble the basis for their individual digital twins. The goal is to support model-based engineering.
On behalf of the co-organizers Kiener Maschinenbau GmbH and Aalen University of Applied Sciences, Prof. Florian Kerber, Scientific Director of the TTZ Nördlingen, was pleased with the response to the topic at the end of the day and announced a continuation on September 20, 2022. The 45 participants expressed themselves very satisfied with the event throughout.