Implementing virtual tools: how manufacturers are leveraging digital twins and digital threads

Certainly, most associate those benefits with engineering analysis in mechanical design. No doubt there is strong value there—using simulation early in the design process helps direct good design decisions. You can also use analyses later in the lifecycle to verify performance and determine whether all requirements are satisfied. Most companies are already realizing that kind of value today.

Over the past decade, however, the most progressive organizations have learned that simulation has value far beyond mechanical design. It can be used in the development of electronics, checking signal and power integrity, design rule checking, and much more. It can be used in the development of electrical systems, helping designers look at network bandwidth, power distribution, and electromagnetic interference. It can also be used in the development of onboard software. Engineers can use different X-in-the-loop methods to verify the logic of their codes and their interactions with actuated hardware and sensors.

Engineers are also leveraging simulation beyond design—and using it to optimize the manufacturing process. Some are using it to validate that there will be no machine clashes with numerical control (NC) code. Others are simulating operations in workcells and production lines to promote better production efficiency and worker safety. Yet more are using simulation to better understand the flow of goods throughout their manufacturing facility. There are many other use cases, as well. The results from the 2022 Digital Twin Study demonstrate that there is no single right place to start leveraging simulation and analysis. The most progressive organizations identify the most acute issues that plague design or manufacturing planning, and then investigate whether or not simulation can be applied to make improvements in those spaces. It’s really as simple as that.

Of course, beginning a DX effort is no easy task. The pursuit of any technology-led initiative has its risks. Such efforts can offer more disruption than improvement when organizations don’t do proper due diligence or when they handle the initiative in a rush. Most departments already work under aggressive goals and objectives, so the margin of error for deployment is small.

That caution isn’t meant to delay you from starting a deployment. Rather, to find success, start by taking a long, hard look at your organization’s ability to manage cultural change before committing to any one DX initiative. Lifecycle Insights’ research studies consistently show that one of the greatest challenges to realizing value from new initiatives lies not in technology or process change but in how change is managed within the organization. The biggest barrier to entry is often a people problem, not an IT one.

It’s time to get started on your journey. But the first step should be understanding how your company adapts and internalizes change. Then and only then can you find a DX initiative that is commensurate with those abilities.