Toward digital validation for rapid product development based on digital twin: a framework

Product development should cover product design, validation, and manufacturing. In traditional product development, physical validation based on physical trial manufacturing is the key step to confirm the design scheme before physical manufacturing. However, physical validation is costly and inefficient, which could be the main obstacle to achieving rapid product development. The emergence of digital twin provides an opportunity to accelerate product development by eliminating physical validation toward digital validation in the smart manufacturing era. Therefore, a framework of rapid product development based on digital twin is proposed in this paper. During product development, the new product is designed according to the new requirements in the virtual space, in which the existing digital twins of products can be referenced. Then, an ultrahigh-fidelity virtual manufacturing system is constructed for digital trial manufacturing based on the digital twin of the manufacturing system and the design scheme of the new product. An ultrahigh-fidelity digital prototype can be obtained from digital trial manufacturing for digital validation. The new product validation is executed on the digital prototype to test its performance. The digital validation results can be used to improve the design scheme of the new product and boost the corresponding manufacturing processes. In addition, the core characteristics and key technologies of rapid product development based on digital twin are discussed. Finally, a case study is presented to implement the proposed framework and to show the effectiveness of accelerating product development.

The Application of Manufacturing Execution System in Virtual Manufacturing

Compaired with mart manufacturing and digital manufacturing, virtual manufacturing is a more advanced mode, which is more flexible, more inexpensive and more suitable for modern competitive society. No matter what type of manufacturing, Manufacturing Execution System (MES) is necessary and plays a key role. So this paper focuses on the MES in virtual manufacturing. MES serves as a bridge to connect the upper planning layer and the control layer of the factory. It has at least 8 functions, including data collection, production process management, human resource management, workpieces tracking, production planning and scheduling, quality control, documentation system and maintenance management. As a typical virtual manufacturing enterprise, the company A is chosen to be introduced, including the background, composition of MES and implementation of MES.

Process Modeling of Thermoset Composites used for Wind Blade Manufacturing

A computational process modeling framework, informed by accurate material characterization, is presented for virtual manufacturing of wind energy thermoset composites. Process modeling simulations of composite microstructures are carried out to predict in-situ matrix property evolution and performance-altering residual stress generation. To achieve this, comprehensive material characterization effort is carried out. A novel material property dataset for a widely-used wind energy thermoset system is generated as a function of the temperature and curing. Informed by these material properties, the ability of the process model to reliably estimate manufacturing-induced residual stresses is highlighted. For a prescribed cure cycle, in-situ elastic modulus evolution, chemical and thermal strains, and random fiber distribution are shown to significantly influence residual stress generation. The results also show that a full process modeling analysis that includes the complete cure cycle (instead of the standard approach of just considering post-processing cool-down) is necessary to accurately predict manufacturing-induced residual stresses.

A Voxel-Based Watermarking Scheme for Additive Manufacturing

Digital and analog contents, generated in additive manufacturing (AM) processes, may be illegally modified, distributed, and reproduced. In this article, we propose a watermarking scheme to enhance the security of AM. Compared with conventional watermarking methods, our algorithm possesses the following advantages. First, it protects geometric models and printed parts as well as G-code programs. Secondly, it embeds watermarks into both polygonal and volumetric models. Thirdly, our method is capable of creating watermarks inside the interiors and on the surfaces of complex models. Fourth, the watermarks may appear in various forms, including character strings, cavities, embossed bumps, and engraved textures. The proposed watermarking method is composed of the following steps. At first, the input geometric model is converted into a distance field. Then, the watermark is inserted into a region of interest by using self-organizing mapping. Finally, the watermarked model is converted into a G-code program by using a specialized slicer. Several robust methods are also developed to authenticate digital models, G-code programs, and physical parts. These methods perform virtual manufacturing, volume rendering, and image processing to extract watermarks from these contents at first. Then, they employ similarity evaluation and visual comparison to verify the extracted signatures. Some experiments had been conducted to validify the proposed watermarking method. The test results, analysis, discussion, and comparisons are also presented in this article.

Methodical procedure of virtual manufacturing for analysing WAAM distortion along with experimental verification

This paper deals with a principal development of virtual manufacturing (VM) procedure to predict substrate distortion induced by Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) process. In this procedure, a hollow shape is designed in a thin-walled form made of stainless steel. The procedure starts with geometrical modelling of WAAM component consisting of twenty-five deposited layers with austenitic stainless-steel wire SS316L as feedstock and SS304 as substrate material. The hollow shape is modelled based on simplified rectangular mesh geometry with identical specimen dimensions during the experiment. Material model to be defined can be retrieved directly from a database or by conducting a basic experiment to obtain the evolution of material composition, characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, and generated using advanced modelling software JMATPRO for creating new properties including the flow curves. Further, a coupled thermomechanical solution is adopted, including phase-change phenomena defined in latent heat, whereby temperature history due to successive layer deposition is simulated by coupling the heat transfer and mechanical analysis. Transient thermal distribution is calibrated from an experiment obtained from thermocouple analysis at two reference measurement locations. New heat transfer coefficients are to be adjusted to reflect actual temperature change. As the following procedure prior to simulation execution, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to find the optimal number of elements or mesh size towards temperature distribution. The last procedure executes the thermomechanical numerical simulation and analysis the post-processing results. Based on all aspects in VM procedures and boundary conditions, WAAM distortion is verified using a robotic welding system equipped with a pulsed power source. The experimental substrate distortion is measured at various points before and after the process. It can be concluded based on the adjusted model and experimental verification that using nonlinear numerical computation, the prediction of substrate distortion with evolved material property of component yields far better result which has the relative error less than 11% in a comparison to database material which has 22%, almost doubled the inaccuracy.

The The Application of Virtual Reality to (Mechatronics Engineering) by Creating an Articulated Robotic Work Cell Using EON Reality V9.22.24.24477

Virtual reality, VR, offers many benefits to technical education, including the delivery of information through multiple active channels, the addressing of different learning styles, and experiential-based learning. This paper presents work performed by the authors to apply VR to engineering education, in three broad project areas: virtual robotic learning, virtual mechatronics laboratory, and a virtual manufacturing platform. The first area provides guided exploration of domains otherwise inaccessible, such as the robotic cell components, robotic kinematics and work envelope. The second promotes mechatronics learning and guidance for new mechatronics engineers when dealing with robots in a safe and interactive manner. And the third provides valuable guidance for industry and robotic based manufacturing, allowing a better view and simulating conditions otherwise inaccessible.

Capability mapping to improve manufacturing network performance: how a factory can target growth

PurposeThis paper explores growth opportunities for a contract manufacturer (CM), which operates a global virtual manufacturing network (GVMN). The Swiss factory should play a profitable role in the holding's competitive strategy, in spite of lower-cost alternatives within its network.Design/methodology/approachThe study applied a design science method over a period of two years of collaboration with the partner firm to complete three iterations of solution incubation and refinement.FindingsThe design artefact is a growth strategy for a CM with independently-managed, heterogeneous sites. A novel capability mapping tool reveals competitive advantage by deploying the GVMN as an order fulfilment system. Engineering and sales are integrated with production to project higher revenue streams in multiple locations including Switzerland.Research limitations/implicationsThe research expands the operations management (OM) focus on optimization and continuous improvement. Results indicate that local and global manufacturing capabilities can be configured to target network performance, implying that the smile curve flattens in certain GVMN configurations. The exploratory case study is limited by a lack of statistical generalizability and is specific to the contract electronics manufacturing industry.Practical implicationsManaging manufacturing as a network can restore feed-forward and feedback loops, which are disrupted by de-verticalization and externalization. The visualization positions a Swiss plant in an inimitable role, serving growth accounts, which require co-development. The order fulfilment strategy and capability maps can be adapted to other GVMNs.Social implicationsThe study presents an alternative to shuttering high-cost locations using performance improvements instead of protectionist interventions. This could have a material impact on de-industrialization in developed nations like Switzerland.Originality/valueThe strategy innovation originates in practice. Its synthesis drew on multiple disciplines to position OM as a strategic lever for competing in global value chains (GVCs). The author finds alternatives to the internationalization logic of cost arbitrage and adds to developed country studies. This is an OM contribution to the broader debate on globalization dominated by the social sciences.

Dynamic construction of virtual manufacturing cell considering workload balancing and machine failure

Machine is the key element in manufacturing system. Machine failure will lead to order delivery delay and production cost rise. Aiming at the random disturbance of equipment failure, a dynamic non-linear programming model of virtual manufacturing cell (VMC) is established, which aims to minimize the equipment cost, logistics transportation cost, delay delivery cost and the differences of workload among cells, based on the comprehensive consideration of equipment reliability, process route constraints, variable processing path and workload. Due to the high complexity of the problem, the hybrid particle swarm optimization algorithm is used to solve the model, and the rationality and effectiveness of the method are verified by a numerical example. Experimental results show that this method has advantages in reducing the cost of cell reconfiguration, improving the utilization of equipment and shortening the completion time.