Digital Twins to Support Smart Manufacturing System Design and Ramp up

Although there is a significant amount of research done on Digital Twin (DT) for Smart Manufacturing Systems, there is a lack of research focused on implementing DT in the design and ramp-up phases of companies. This research aims to explore possibilities for the effective implementation of DT in Smart Manufacturing Systems Design (SMSD) and ramp-up processes for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and the findings may also be applicable to larger companies. Different case studies were conducted to gain insightful information on the actual implementation of digital twinning. During the initial case study, a DT prototype was developed on a DT software package to investigate the essential steps to create a successful DT. In the second case study, a DT Instance was developed. This study specifically investigated the application of DTs for virtual commissioning and connection to the IoT. The third case study examined the support among stakeholders. This research identified a manner for the successful implementation of digital twinning during smart manufacturing systems design and highlights the benefits that can be achieved by implementing DT during design processes.