Colloquia

Samenvatting

During this thesis project the implementation of digital twinning into the way of work currently applied at DEMCON Industrial Systems Enschede was investigated. After extensive literature research into the correct definition of the Digital Twin and into its application in Industry, three main research gaps were identified. In order to close these research gaps and gain insightful information into the actual implementation of digital twinning during manufacturing systems design, a research methodology was shaped in which three case studies were conducted.

During the first case study it was investigated whether the chosen software package provided by XR4industry was suitable for the use case presented at DEMCON Industrial Systems. Moreover, during this case study the approach from CAD data towards models suitable for usage in the digital twin was investigated and the first digital twins was created and controlled.

The second case study focused on the implementation of DT during the conceptualisation and formation of smart manufacturing systems. This study specifically investigated the application of DTs for virtual commissioning, with the DT being controlled via an actual PLC. Additionally, to enable communication between the DT and external systems, IoT connectivity via the MQTT protocol was implemented.

The last case study examined the impact of DT on stakeholder communication. Multiple stakeholders were presented with a DT and their feedback was solicited through a survey. The outcome of this survey validated the approach and findings of case study 1 and case study 2.

Following a discussion of these case studies, a structured implementation framework was formulated to facilitate the successful integration of DT in the design of smart manufacturing systems. Subsequently, this framework was validated against a set of key performance indicators (KPIs). This research resulted in a structured implementation framework for the efficient integration of DT within the workflow currently employed by DEMCON Industrial Systems.