Experiment 14: Digital Twin to optimize design of cars braking system assembly line (DIGITBREAK)

Motivation of the Experiment

Producer of manufacturing assembly lines faces unprecedented challenges in optimizing design and engineering to meet evolving market needs while ensuring, efficiency and productivity challenges.

• Providing a first-time right architecture, by balancing processes, sub-processes, buffers sizes;
• Providing the right mechanical solutions, by predicting critical problems before physical equipment testing to avoid wrong sizing/speed, force, torque/potential interferences, collisions or defect;
• Guaranteeing performances (rates, availability, quality) complying with customer’s requirements;
• Enabling the re-configuration of the machines to support different scenarios: new product variants, revamping, technology upgrading, by estimating the impact on the current design.

Experiment aims at solving these challenges by

• Developing, integrating and demonstrating a novel Simulation Based Digital Twin of a car brake assembly line production system leveraging EnginSoft, Cosberg and MADE competences
• Demonstrating advantages of such SBDT approach to new potential customers through the integration with DIGITBrain;
• Enhancing Cosberg ability to design customized solution allowing for improved cost efficiency; time consuming, time to market, quality and reliability;
• Developing a new MaaS business model, based on SBDT deployment on the Digital Agora
• Exploit DIH Test Before Invest scenario, facilitating end user market exploitation and replication

Technical Impact

The experiment follow Test Before Invest (TBI) methodology7 deploying use case installed at MADE Competence Center - Digital Innovation Hub. This scenario allow for simulation in real operational environment (TRL 7) minimizing technical and business risk of technology transfer to market both for end user and Individual Software Vendor.
The experiment builds on the following blocks: (i) pilot assembly line at MADE - TBI (ii) line monitoring system and data flow thereof, (iii) information synthesis layer, (iv) discrete event simulation models of the assembly line, (v) DIGITbrain framework, including the Digital Agora.

Expected Economic Impact

Independent Software Vendor will integrate Models and Algorithms (section 3 and 4) into DIGITBrain, and publish them in the Digital Agora where new clients can access them. Thanks to the use case developed within Digital Agora, EnginSoft will demonstrate the advantages of a Simulation Based Technology to potential customers, and enable innovative business models using the Agora. As such, Enginsoft will take advantage of the marketing, support, and services provided by DIGITBrain operators. Enginsoft will benefit from Digital Agora as an additional marketing tool to penetrate the manufacturing market sector at EU scale.

End user. The project will integrate the digital library, composed of digital models of the MADE pilot line, into the Digital Agora private repository. Cosberg will use models accessing the DIGITBrain. Building on the experiment results, Cosberg might replicate the developed methodology to other assembly systems in similar and different sectors (e.g. white goods, furniture industries after the end of the project. The DIGITBrain platform will open the possibility to implement a MaaS business model leading to potential codesign scenario with clients (e.g. global producer of automotive brakes). It will result in a faster and optimized feedback to customer request, increased performance, productivity and cost efficiency in the engineering phase. The Digital Agora will consolidate Cosberg leadership with existing clients.