With time to market for a new product or process spiralling down to half, the cost of development reducing to a mere fraction, production systems getting 30% speedier and 25% more efficient, and downtimes almost tending towards zero, it may seem like any manufacturer’s dream come true. Only, it isn’t wishful thinking. It’s the new norm in Industry 4.0 made possible by the revolutionary practice of digital twinning.
India gearing up for change and the digital relevance
For India, the next decade of manufacturing will focus on adopting cognitive solutions that infuse intelligence into all processes- from a factory’s floor to the finished product. The thrust is upon the manufacturing sector to grow its contribution from 15% to 25% of the country’s GDP. SMEs in India, which have a share of 40% in the industrial production and employ close to 36 million people, can play a defining role in Industry 4.0.
One can maximize the potential with Digitalisation to enhance efficiency to fight scale, reduce the cost of production, minimise manufacturing defects, and shorten production time. Leveraging the full might of cutting-edge digital technologies, digital twins virtually mimic plant and factory products and processes.
Industries and verticals looking to the future with digital twins
Today digital twins serve a wide range of industry sectors including automotive, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, power utilities, transportation & logistics, aerospace & defence, and data centres, to name a few.
For example, the shop floor of a pharmaceutical company works with high-end machines that need the highest level of precision and functionality for optimal performance. There is almost no room for error here. A digital factory representing this entire process of drug manufacturing would provide a plethora of vital information about the current performance levels of these machines, and help predict errors and failures in advance, thereby saving the huge cost of having to deal with a fault unprepared.
This saves time and lays the groundwork for customised mass production, since even highly complex production routes can be calculated, tested, and programmed with minimal cost and effort in a short span of time, helping manufacturers meet their customers’ requirements.
Harnessing the power of digital twin technology, SMEs in India can ramp up, upgrade and adopt new designs and components much faster to stay aligned with the needs of OEMs. To realise this value, India will need to build an ecosystem of tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 suppliers that bring a high level of efficiency, flexibility and quality focus to the table.
While IDC’s earlier prediction seems to have come true that by 2018, companies who invest in digital twin technology will see a 30% improvement in cycle times of critical processes, it primarily is the adoption rate of this technology that will determine if this can have a cascading effect on industries and the economy in general. With the benefits of adoption far outweighing the risks and consequences of living without it, it is only a matter of time before its use is implemented across functions and verticals in businesses.
NicheTech 