Session: 03-11-02: Future of Smart Manufacturing

Paper Number: 145598

145598 - Manufacturing Digital Twin to Support Virtual Commissioning in a Robotic Pick and Place Application 

Virtual Commissioning (VC) in a manufacturing system is the ability to verify and validate the operation of manufacturing system design using digital manufacturing tools (DMT). Virtual commissioning (VC) is critical in the design and development of new manufacturing systems. VC must not only be capable of exploring new technology functionality but also must validate the current technologies in the Manufacturing Systems Integration (MSI). The design and integration of complex manufacturing systems require advanced VC approaches and cutting-edge digital manufacturing tools to perform the VC digitally. The manufacturing system design connection explores how the software and hardware are integrated using advanced instruments and controls. In the development of new manufacturing systems, VC is required at the system design phase and at the end to implement the system on the shop floor using the Instruments and Controls conceptualized during the new system design phase. A manufacturing system could be analyzed at the station, cell, factory, and enterprise level. For example, a Manufacturing Digital Twin (MDT) is different from using a conventional robot and/or collaborative robot. The VC approach is different when using different MDTs. This paper explores DMTs to support manufacturing VC at the station level, using a robot in a pick-and-place operation. This paper presents a novel VC approach and uses Siemens Process Simulate Tecnomatix as a DMT and is compared with other DMTs. An MDT is the virtual representation of a manufacturing system connected in real time with a physical prototype of an MSI. This paper presents a methodology implementing the new VC approach and using a case study to show the research novelty contribution. The first research objective was to conceptualize a new MDT at the station level using a robot in a pick-and-place operation and explore different DMTs. The second objective was to demonstrate how advanced instruments and controls and their software allowed the connection between the physical and virtual prototypes in real-time.  The third objective was to demonstrate how the MDT is useful to support the VC in the design and development of new manufacturing systems. Current literature shows that an MDT is more than a virtual representation of a physical prototype. The motivation of this research is to explore how an MDT is important to support the VC in the design and development of new manufacturing systems. This motivation is aligned with exploring how the new industry 4.0 trends such as Industrial, Internet of Things, Machine Learning, and Cloud Manufacturing (among others) are required to instantiate Next Generation Automation Systems (NGAS). This research contributes to the Intelligent Manufacturing System using Robots. This research used an MDT to validate important industrial variables and speed up the Manufacturing System Integration (MSI).  According to the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) in the design and development of new manufacturing systems, there are different MDT types and some of them are more concentrated on supporting the ideation stage of the new MSI, others on the development of the MSI, and others on the implementation or integration of the MSI. This paper explores Digital Manufacturing Tools (DMT) for supporting manufacturing Virtual Commissioning (VC) at the station level through a pick-and-place operation using a robot. It presents a novel VC approach utilizing Siemens Process Simulate Tecnomatix as a DMT and compares it with other DMTs, along with a methodology for implementing the new VC approach. Additionally, it includes a case study to demonstrate the research novelty contribution, focusing on Manufacturing Digital Twin (MDT) to support the ideation stage of the new MSI by selecting relevant variables to prove the concept of virtual commissioning using DMTs.

Presenting Author: David Guerra Zubiaga Kennesaw State University

Presenting Author Biography: David A. Guerra-Zubiaga
Siemens Endowed Professor of Mechatronics
Kennesaw State University

Dr. Guerra-Zubiaga has 11 years of industry experience and 13 years of academic experience. He has led important international industrial projects with 14.2 million USD, as total research income gained. In 2014 and 2016, he obtained a $340 Million In-Kind Software Grant from Siemens PLM Software. He published 2 patents, 1 book, and more than 100 international papers; and he directed 25 postgraduate theses. Dr. Guerra-Zubiaga has been a senior associate editor (North America) for the International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing since 2011. He has been a topic organizer for ASME-IMECE since 2017 and today is a Track organizer at the advanced manufacturing track. Today Dr. Guerra-Zubiaga is an Associate Professor in the Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering Department at Kennesaw State University, and he is a Siemens Endowed Professor of Mechatronics.

Authors:

David Guerra Zubiaga Kennesaw State University
Gershom Richards Kennesaw State University
Paul Forsberg Kennesaw State University
Kingsley Nwachukwu Kennesaw State University
Andrew Burroughs Kennesaw State University
Eric Sabula Kennesaw State University
Vladimir Kuts TALLINN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY