Application of Digital Twins to Flexible Production Management: Taking a Shandong Factory as an Example

By enabling the merging of the virtual and real worlds, DT (Digital Twin) technology has considerably aided the development of businesses at both levels of digitization and networking in recent years. As an outcome, industrial research has shifted its attention to this new technology in the manufacturing business. However, there are still technical issues with DT technology, such as real-time data interaction, high integration of constituent elements, and high simulation. This paper proposes to solve these issues by presenting a framework that blends DT with 3D visualization technologies. A case study of an intelligent logistics management 3D scheduling system for a factory in Shandong verifies the applicability of digital twins to flexible production management. The example demonstrates that the framework can be synchronizing the virtual and real systems. Moreover, the framework can effectively cover the whole manufacturing life cycle, enhance production efficiency and product quality, and achieve flexible production management, helping the manufacturing industry's digital and intelligent transition.

Designing a Medical Supply Chain Network Considering the Risk of Supply and Flexible Production in Two-Stage Uncertain Conditions

In the green supply chain approach, all the links that are put together to provide a product or service are considered, and strategic and operational decisions are made to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire chain. At the same time, the environmental effects should be minimized. In this research, a nonlinear mixed-integer multiobjective model is developed to design a green closed-loop supply chain for medical products. In this supply chain, the echelons include supplier, manufacturer, warehouse, and customer in the forward supply chain and collection centers, repair services, and disposal centers in the reverse supply chain. In the proposed model, four objectives of customer satisfaction, environmental effects, supply risk, and total costs of the supply chain were considered. The developed model is implemented in a supply chain of medical products, and after optimizing the model, the main results including location and capacity of facilities, planning for flexible production, purchase of materials, service and maintenance plan, product transfer, and inventory level are determined and analyzed.

Medical applications of porous silicon

Materials based on porous silicon are extremely attractive for biomedical applications due to their simple and flexible production, biocompatibility, biodegradability, controlled morphology, and multiple ways of introducing the drug into the body. This paper presents the results of studies of porous structures with a broad spectrum antibiotic ceftriaxone. It has been shown that the characteristics of the porous structure change upon saturation of the pores with the drug. It was shown that solutions of porous silicon + ceftriaxone have a characteristic peak at a wavelength of 1070 nm with increasing sonication time

Dry Fibre Placement: The Influence of Process Parameters on Mechanical Laminate Properties and Infusion Behaviour

Within the dry fibre placement (DFP) process, spread and pre-bindered carbon fibre rovings are automatically processed into dry textile preforms using 2-D and 3-D laying systems. The aim was to automate existing hand lay-up processes, reducing the complexity, increasing robustness, and facilitating the handling of the DFP technology. Process reliability, low waste rates, and flexible production are demonstrated. In this publication, the influences of the process parameters, 2 mm wide gaps and the percentage of 90° plies in the laminate, are investigated with regard to the mechanical properties, the permeability, and the infusion times in the preform z-direction (thickness). The effects on stiffness and strength are compared for several use cases. An approach to determine the infusion times as a function of the laminate thickness, the ply structure, and 2 mm wide gaps is demonstrated and analysed using vacuum-assisted process (VAP) infusion tests. The investigations are performed with carbon fibre tows (24 k), a reactive epoxy-based binder system, and a thermoset infusion resin system.

Safety in modular process plants: demonstration of safety concepts

The modularization of process plants addresses the need for flexible production options in the process industry. In order to maintain the advantages of the adaptability of modular plants, an adaptation of established engineering methods and procedures to their dynamic context of use is required. This paper describes the development and the features of a demonstrator, which makes it possible to investigate aspects of modular plant topology, the design of modular process units, and the functional safety of modules and plants. During the engineering of the modules, modular planning principles are applied and evaluated with respect to the requirements for functional safety and with a strong focus on the modification of safety systems through the exchange of PEAs and FEAs. For the design and modification of the safety systems, a safety life cycle, which meets the requirements of modular automation and takes the provisions of IEC 61508 and IEC 61511 into account, is applied. Practical insights into the construction and the implementation of the distributed Safety Instrumented System as well as the Basic Process Control System are described. In addition to the validation of safety concepts related to the interconnection of Safety Instrumented Functions, the demonstrator is used to study human working environments in modular plants.