Digital Manufacturing

Digital manufacturing is the use of an integrated, computer-based system comprised of simulation,

three-dimensional (3D) visualization, analytics and various collaboration tools to create product and
manufacturing process definitions simultaneously. Digital manufacturing evolved from manufacturing
initiatives such as design for manufacturability (DFM), computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM),
flexible manufacturing, lean manufacturing and others that highlight the need for more collaborative
product and process design.

Digital Manufacturing is an integrated approach to manufacturing that is centered around a computer

system. The transition to digital manufacturing has become more popular with the rise in the quantity
and quality of computer systems in manufacturing plants. As more automated tools have become
used in manufacturing plants it has become necessary to model, simulate, and analyse all of the
machines, tooling, and input materials in order to optimize the manufacturing process. Overall, digital
manufacturing can be seen sharing the same goals as computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM),
flexible manufacturing, lean manufacturing, and design for manufacturability (DFM). The main
difference is that digital manufacturing was evolved for use in the computerized world.

Many of the long-term benefits from product lifecycle management (PLM) cannot be achieved without
a comprehensive digital manufacturing strategy. Digital manufacturing is a key point of integration
between PLM and various shop floor applications and equipment, enabling the exchange of product-
related information between design and manufacturing groups. This alignment allows manufacturing
companies to achieve their time-to-market and volume goals, as well as realize cost savings by
reducing expensive downstream changes.

Digital manufacturing systems allow manufacturing engineers to create the complete definition of
a manufacturing process in a virtual environment, including:

 Tooling
 Assembly Lines
 Work Centres
 Facility Layout
 Ergonomics
 Resources

Simulation of production processes can be performed, with the intent to re-use existing knowledge
and optimize processes before products are manufactured. Digital manufacturing also allows
feedback from actual production operations to be incorporated into the product design process,
allowing companies to take advantage of shop floor realities during the planning stage.

Current initiatives in the development of digital manufacturing tools involve improving the user
experience, so that information is presented in the context of tasks performed, allowing users to make
better decisions faster. Steps are being taken to provide direct connectivity with shop floor hardware,
such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs), machine controllers, computer numerically controlled
(CNC) machines and others. Unified platforms have also been developed to manage both PLM and
manufacturing execution system (MES) information.
Examples of Digital Manufacturing Applications
Digital manufacturing is utilized in a variety of industries. An automotive original equipment
manufacturer (OEM) can design the entire manufacturing process digitally (tooling, machining,
assembly sequencing, and factory layout) at the same time that designers are designing the next
vehicle program. Because of this, manufacturing engineers are able to provide immediate feedback to
designers, if there are any constraints in the part manufacturability. This type of collaboration
between manufacturing engineers and designers creates a holistic view of product and process design.

A high-tech supplier can use a digital manufacturing system to create a 3D simulation of a complete
production line, and analyse the different production variants and concepts as part of the request for
quote (RFQ) process. This kind of transparency and precision in planning and proposal preparation can
help this company to gain greater customer confidence, and ultimately help it win the contract.

Simulation
Simulation can be used to model and test a system's behaviour. Simulation also provides engineers
with a tool for inexpensive, fast, and secure analysis to test how changes in a system can affect the
performance of that system.

Rob CAD is a popular software used in digital manufacturing. Models of automated machinery and
production lines can be created and simulated in real time.

These models can be classified into the following:

 Static - System of equations at a point in time

 Dynamic - System of equations that incorporate time as a variable
 Continuous - Dynamic model where time passes linearly
 Discrete - Dynamic model where time is separated into chunks
 Deterministic - Models where a unique solution is generated per a given input
 Stochastic - Models where a solution is generated utilizing probabilistic parameters

Applications of simulation can be assigned to:

 Product design (e.g. virtual reality)

 Process design (e.g. assisting in the design of manufacturing processes)
 Enterprise resource planning

Tooling and processes

There are many different tooling processes that digital manufacturing utilizes. However, every digital
manufacturing process involves the use of computerized numerical controlled machines (CNC). This
technology is crucial in digital manufacturing as it not only enables mass production and flexibility, but
it also provides a link between a CAD model and production. The two primary categories of CNC tooling
are additive and subtractive. Major strides in additive manufacturing have come about recently and
are at the forefront of digital manufacturing. These processes allow machines to address every
element of a part no matter the complexity of its shape.
Examples of additive tooling and processes
o Stereolithography - In this process, solid parts are formed by solidifying layers of a
photopolymer with ultraviolet light. There is a wide range of acrylics and epoxies that are used
in this process.
o Ink-Jet Processing - Although the most widely used ink-jet process is used for printing on
paper, there are many that are applied in engineering. This process involves a printhead
depositing layers of liquid material onto a filler powder in the shape of the desired object.
After the powder is saturated, a fresh new layer of powder is added continually until the object
is built.
o Laser sintering and fusion - This process utilizes heat produced by infrared lasers to bond a
powdered material together to form a solid shape.
o Solid Ground Curing - A layer of liquid photopolymer is spread over a platform. An optical
mask is generated and laid over the polymer. A UV lamp cures the resin that is not blocked by
the mask. Any remaining liquid is removed and the voids are filled with wax. Liquid resin is
spread over the layer that was just produced and the process is repeated. When the part is
finished, the wax can be melted out of the voids.
o Laminated-Object Manufacturing - A sheet material is laid on a platform and a laser cuts the
desired contour. The platform is lowered by one sheet thickness and a new sheet is laid with
a layer of thermal adhesive between the two sheets. A heated roller presses the sheets
together and activates the adhesive. The laser cuts the contours of this layer and the process
is repeated. When the part is finished, the leftover sheet material around the perimeter of the
part must be removed. The final part is coated with sealant.
o Fused filament fabrication- FFF is the most commonly used form of 3-D printing.
Thermoplastic material is heated just beyond solidification and extruded onto a platform in
the desired shape. The platform is lowered, and the next layer is extruded onto the previous
layer. The process is repeated until the part is complete.

Examples of subtractive tooling and processes

A CNC waterjet cutter is an example of the types of computer controlled tooling that are essential to
digital manufacturing.

o Water Jet Cutting - A water jet cutter is a CNC tool that uses a high-pressure stream of water,
often mixed with an abrasive material, to cut shapes or patterns out of many types of
materials.
o Milling - A CNC mill uses a rotational cutting tool to remove material from a piece of stock.
Milling can be performed on most metals, many plastics, and all types of wood.
o Lathe - A CNC lathe removes material by rotating the work-piece while a stationary cutting
tool is brought into contact with the material.
Analysis
Digital manufacturing systems often incorporate optimization capabilities to reduce time, cost, and
improve the efficiency of most processes. These systems improve optimization of floor schedules,
production planning, and decision making. The system analyses feedback from production, such as
deviations or problems in the manufacturing system, and generates solutions for handling them. In
addition, many technologies analyse data from simulations in order to calculate a design that is
optimal before it is even built.

Types

On demand

 Additive
o Additive manufacturing is the "process of joining materials to make objects from 3D
model data, usually layer upon layer." Digital Additive manufacturing is highly
automated which means less man hours and machine utilization, and therefore
reduced cost. By incorporating model data from digitized open sources, products
can be produced quickly, efficiently, and cheaply.
 Rapid
o Much like Additive manufacturing, Rapid manufacturing uses digital models to
rapidly produce a product that can be complicated in shape and heterogeneous in
material composition. Rapid manufacturing utilizes not only the digital information
process, but also the digital physical process. Digital information governs the
physical process of adding material layer by layer until the product is complete. Both
the information and physical processes are necessary for rapid manufacturing to be
flexible in design, cheap, and efficient.

Cloud-based design and manufacturing

Cloud-Based Design (CBD) refers to a model that incorporates social network sites, cloud computing,
and other web technologies to aid in cloud design services. This type of system must be cloud
computing-based, be accessible from mobile devices, and must be able to manage complex
information. AutoDesk 123D is an example CBD.

Cloud-Based Manufacturing (CBM) refers to a model that utilizes the access to open information
from various resources to develop reconfigurable production lines to improve efficiency, reduce
costs, and improve response to customer needs.
Benefits of Digital Manufacturing

Digital manufacturing can help manufacturing companies improve their productivity in both
manufacturing planning and production processes.

o Digital manufacturing enables product, process, plant and resource information to be

associated, viewed and taken through change processes, with a consistent and
comprehensive approach to production design.
o Digital manufacturing allows part manufacturing processes to be optimized within a managed
environment. You can produce flexible work instructions capable of displaying 2D/3D part
information, along with the machining and tooling instructions.
o The simulation capabilities of digital manufacturing help reduce commissioning costs by
validating robotics and automation programs virtually.
o Using digital manufacturing, you can create factory models faster and ensure that they are
operating under optimal layout, material flow and throughput before production ramp-up.
o Digital manufacturing can be used to support six-sigma and lean initiatives, by providing a
graphical environment to analyse dimensional variation.
o Digital manufacturing systems facilitate the sharing quality data across your organization by
generating complete, verifiable CAD-based machine inspection programs for coordinate
measuring machines (CMMs) and numerical control (NC) machine tools.
o Digital manufacturing allows you to execute production processes with real-time access to
lifecycle data.

Digital Manufacturing Software

Here are examples of digital manufacturing software applications:

Tecnomatix is a comprehensive portfolio of digital manufacturing solutions that link all manufacturing
disciplines together with product engineering – from process layout and design, process simulation
and validation, to manufacturing execution. Built upon the open PLM foundation called the
Teamcenter manufacturing platform, Tecnomatix provides a versatile set of manufacturing solutions.

NX CAM and CAM Express allow NC programmers to maximize the value of their investments in the
latest, most efficient and most capable machine tools. NX CAM provides the full range of functions to
address high speed surface machining, multi-function mill-turning, and 5-axis machining. CAM Express
provides powerful NC programming with low total cost of ownership.

Usage
The ways people and organizations use information has shifted dramatically. Data storage is cheap
and flexible, and advanced analytics and artificial intelligence are giving us new abilities to draw
insights from large amounts of data. Advances in virtual and augmented reality. next-level
interfaces, advanced robotics, and additive manufacturing are all opening the gates to digital
disruption. And in the next decade, digital manufacturing technologies will allow companies to
connect physical assets by a “digital thread “—unleashing a seamless flow of data across the value
chain that will link every phase of the product life cycle, from design, sourcing, testing, and
production to distribution, point of sale, and use. While this digital transformation of the $10-trillion-
plus global manufacturing sector will play out over a decade or more, pioneers are moving to drive
bottom-line and top-line impact in the near term. When we examine manufacturing value drivers
and map them to digital levers, we find several opportunities for companies to create value by
improving operational effectiveness and product innovation, as well as by unlocking new sources of
revenue? Some examples include the following:

 Many large manufacturers are starting to use data analytics to optimize factory operations,
boosting equipment utilization and product quality while reducing energy consumption.
With new supply-network management tools, factory managers have a clearer view of raw
materials and manufactured parts flowing through a manufacturing network, which can help
them schedule factory operations and product deliveries to cut costs and improve efficiency.
Smart, connected products are sending customer experience data to product managers to
help them anticipate demand and maintenance needs and design better products. Players in
a wide range of industries are deploying digital technologies in different ways to drive value.

A major metal plant, for example, has used digital tools to make step-change improvements
in throughput. Real-time performance visualization in operator puipits combined with daily
problem solving led to a 50 percent increase in production rate in one of its lines. By mining
data, engineers are gaining new insights into the failure characteristics of major equipment
modes and making continuous improvements in reliability. The company expects to use
condition monitoring and predictive maintenance, in conjunction with process controls and
automated material tracking made possible with big data analysis, to drive a 30 percent
increase in production without a substantial increase in operational costs.

 Pharmaceutical manufacturers are using their deeper understanding of end-to-end

processes to develop continuous manufacturing suites with footprints less than half the size
of conventional factories. Some have even developed portable factories that can be built in
4O-foot trailers. They are also using the digital thread to improve quality control:
continuously monitoring conditions within mixing vessels, tablet presses, lyophilizes, and
other critical equipment. A few companies are now relying on infrared technology to detect
counterfeit medicines and contaminants without the conventional destructive tests—at
production-line speeds. As the industry brings these advances to the market, leaders will
transform the Three Sigma industry performance to peer industry performance of Six Sigma
or greater.

 Leading consumer packaged-goods companies are using digital tools to improve distribution
and build bonds with consumers. Global fashion retailer.
Zara is already renowned for developing and shipping new products within two weeks. It is
now using digital tools to respond even faster to consumer preferences and reduce supply
chain costs, attaching reusable radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags to every item of
clothing in more than 700 of its 2,000-plus stores. Ten staff members can now update a
store’s inventory in a couple of hours—work that used to take 40 employees more than five
hours— by waving small handheld computers at racks of clothing. The retailer expects to
 complete the shift to wireless inventory in 2016. We believe the falling costs of RFID
hardware and associated software are likely to aid this transition.

 The aerospace-and-defence industry is using digital tools to integrate an enormously

complex supply network. A modern jet turbine engine has hundreds of individual parts, for
example, some of which the engine manufacturer makes in-house and others it sources
from a network of dozens of vendors. The complexity of sourcing can multiply quickly, since
making one design modification can impact the manufacturing of many other components.

 Cloud computing—based tools allow suppliers to collaborate faster and more efficiently: an
engine maker can share three-dimensional models of component design within its network,
and each supplier in turn can share information about price, delivery, and duality. This type
of information sharing and transparency reduces the labour required to manage design
changes, reduces risk for the engine maker and suppliers, and speeds changes across the
supply network. Boeing developed its two most recent airframes, for the 777 and 787, using
all-virtual design, reducing time to market by more than 50 percent.