Simulation Models of Production Plants as a Tool for Implementation of the Digital Twin Concept into Production

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to introduce the digital twin concept as part of the Industry 4.0 strategy. In the form of a case study, the procedure and outputs of the simulation of a specific production plant together with its intermediate storage and output for the next plant are presented. In the research part is presented a simulation model of production lines and intermediate stock with material flow representation. At the beginning of the research the analysis of production and logistics processes was carried out. The next part describes the programming methods used to record and redirect material flows between individual lines and stock. The simulation method using simulated production line models enables the digitization of dynamic production processes in enterprises. We expect that in the coming years there will be an increase in demand for the creation of simulation models of production systems in modern manufacturing companies that will try to implement the Industry 4.0 strategy and thus increase their competitiveness.

The use of Computer Simulation Techniques in Production Management

“…The pace of work depended only on the decision of one operator [44][45][46]. However, once with the start of the industrial revolution, and in particular with the introduction of the assembly line, production transformed into a complex system consisting of many pieces of equipment, many operations and activities, and involving many people interacting with each other [47][48][49][50]. Optimizing the process using the simulation method means finding the best configuration of input variables that will reflect the highest efficiency and stability of the process [51,52].…”

Optimization of the Automated Production Process Using Software Simulation Tools

“…Broad possibilities for analysis and optimization of production processes are offered by the Tecnomatix Plant Simulation software, which is used in practice as well as in research in this field. The Tecnomatix Plant Simulation software tool was used in [24] to detect bottlenecks and deficiencies in the company's production, in [25] to optimize the production system, and, in [26], to design a simulation model for intermediate stock with material flow representation. A comparison analysis of production line simulation results obtained in the two simulation tools FlexSim and Tecnomatix Plant Simulation was performed by [27].…”

The Use of Computer Simulation in the Management of Subcontractors and Outsourced Services

“…Due to the use of comprehensive IT solutions in the field of modeling and simulation of manufacturing processes, a significant economic benefit is achieved, especially in mass production [20]. Therefore, more and more IT solutions are appearing in the area of tracking, monitoring and visualizing the course of production processes in real time [21,22]. Many IT tools are at the disposal of managers today, incl.…”