Digital Twin Development for Serial Manipulators: Data Driven Optimized Planning and Sequencing of Tasks
production is removed. Hence, the vertical
integration from ERP to the associated
assets and the horizontal integration of
sensors, actuators and those assets on the
shop floor are completed. Therefore, a work
order of customized sub-assemblies is able
to be accomplished efficiently and
effectively.
assets
require
synchronizing
and
transforming to the useful information
correspondingly for effective decision-
making. In order to ensure this outcome, the
integration of asset data at the IoT platform
is also essential with the structured data
model. All those requirements are fulfilled in
MF @ ARTC, and the digital twin application
can successfully deliver the high-priority
shaft sub-assemblies order. The scalability of
this implementation is straightforward as
the assets are structured with an AAS model.
Therefore, the demonstration of multiple
cobots working together in many gearbox
assembly lines is feasible for producing more
customized
gearbox
assembly
configurations in the future.
C ONCLUSION AND F UTURE D IRECTIONS
In this article, the feasible use case of a DT
model is identified and demonstrated by
fulfilling an order containing customized
configurations of gearbox shaft sub-
assemblies with high efficiency and
minimized time-to-market of new products.
The customized order is completed with
efficient monitoring, planning, simulation,
optimization and execution with an MMC-
based cobot DT model. Such an
implementation with the MMC concept is
novel, yet it is generic to apply for any serial
manipulator.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This research is supported by the Agency for
Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
under its Advanced Manufacturing &
Engineering (AME) Industry Alignment
Funding – Pre-positioning funding scheme
(Project No: A1723a0035).
With the RAMI 4.0 model and AAS structured
architecture, the business need of delivering
a high-priority customized shaft assembly
drives this use case, and the digital facilities
at MF @ ARTC Singapore allow successful
demonstrations. After realizing the required
resources and configurations, the functions
of necessary assets are identified and
planned
for
next
actions.
The
communication and information flow
between the associated assets on the shop
floor are critical to realize the digital twin
technology. The real-time data from those
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