The use of digital twin technologies has expanded beyond manufacturing to include the burgeoning fields of data analytics, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things.

What is a Digital Twin?

Digital twins are virtual replica of physical devices/objects or system. Digital Twin is fundamentally a computer software that uses actual data about a physical thing or system as inputs and generates simulations or predictions of how those inputs will impact the physical object or system as output. It is one of the fastest growing concepts of Industry4.0.

How Digital Twin works?

The twin is designed to be able to take information from sensors collecting data from a physical counterpart. As a result, twin can imitate the physical thing in real time and providing insights into its functionality and potential issues. The physical counterpart’s prototype may have served as the basis for the twin’s design, in which it can offer suggestion as the product is improved. In certain cases, twin may even act as a prototype in and of itself before the physical counterpart is constructed. Whenever a product or process needs to be tested whether for design implementation, monitoring or improvement, a digital twin can be used to save time and money.

Type of Digital twins

Depending on the degree of object augmentation, there are various types of digital twins:

  • Component Twins

Digital representations of a specific component of a system or product like a gear, or screw, are called component twins. They are often used to represent integral parts, such as those under specific stress or heat, as opposed to merely modeling all the various parts of the product. Designers and engineers can understand how the parts are modified to maintain integrity in likely circumstances by digitally modeling the parts and exposing them to dynamic simulations. They are the basic unit of Digital Twins.   

  • Asset Twins

Asset twins also known as product twins, are virtual depictions of a physical object rather than its component elements. Asset twins are technically made up of many component twins, but their main goal is to show how these elements interact, producing a vast amount of performance data that can be analyzed and then transformed into useful insights. For instance, a wind turbine might have linked asset twin that is used to track its performance and spot potential component breakdown due to normal wear and tear.

  • System or unit Twins

Unit twins also knows as system twins, are digital representation of product systems in action. System twins stimulate these products as separate pieces of a large system, whereas asset twins stimulate real world products made up of numerous parts. It is possible to enhance the relationship between assets by having a better understanding of how they interact, which will boost productivity and efficiency.

  • Process Twins

Digital representation of interconnected systems is known as process twins. For instance, a process twin could stimulate the complete factory down to the workers, working the machinery on the factory floor, whereas a system twin might stimulate a production line. The specific timing schemes that eventually affect overall efficacy can be found with the use of process twins.

Benefits of Digital Twins 

As many uses for digital twins as there are advantages to using them. However, some of the most widespread advantages of employing them are as follows:

  • Cost Cutting: - Reduce overall costs by developing, testing, and fine-tuning systems or goods in virtual environments before going into mass production or launching them.
  • Predictive maintenance: - By continuously monitoring their performance and spot problems at the onset, physical assets, and existing systems, like buildings or jet engines, can receive prompt maintenance.
  • Accelerated risk assessments and production time: - Up-to-date information is used to model systems, test modifications in dynamic simulations, and finally apply real-world improvements to increase operational efficiency.
  •  Effective Teamwork: - Techs may concentrate more on inter-team collaboration thanks to process automation and 24-hour access to system information, which boosts output and operational effectiveness.
  •  Improved financial judgment: - Financial information, such as the price of materials and labor, can be incorporated into a virtual depiction of a physical thing. Businesses may decide more quickly and effectively if changes to a manufacturing value chain are financially viable thanks to the availability of a vast amount of real-time data and powerful analytics.

 

Application of Digital Twin 

  • Industrial processes: - It is not unexpected that digital twins have proliferated in all phases of manufacturing, leading items from design to the final product, and all steps in between, given that they are intended to mirror a product's full lifecycle.
  • Medical services: - Patients seeking medical treatments can be profiled using digital twins just like products can. The same kind of sensor-generated data system can be used to track different health indicators and produce important insights.
  • Automobile sector: - Digital twins are widely utilized in the car industry to improve vehicle performance and production economy. Cars represent a variety of intricate, interconnected systems.
  • Urban Sector: - The usage of digital twins, which can display 3D and 4D spatial data in real time and include augmented reality systems into constructed environments, is very helpful to civil engineers and other people involved in urban planning activities.

Conclusion

Graphical Representation of the Digital Twin Market in US Billion Dollars

 

 

Digital twins are already used by 13% of firms working on IoT initiatives, and 62% are either implementing them now or have plans to do so, according to Gartner.  The digital twin market is anticipated to rise from $3.8 billion in 2020 to $35.8 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 37.8%.

Digital twin technology is essential for product manufacturers to achieve more productive production processes and a shorter time to market.

About Rang Technologies:
Headquartered in New Jersey, Rang Technologies has dedicated over a decade delivering innovative solutions and best talent to help businesses get the most out of the latest technologies in their digital transformation journey. Read More...