Journal of Manufacturing Systems xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

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Journal of Manufacturing Systems

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jmansys

A digital twin-based flexible cellular manufacturing for optimization of air

conditioner line
Hongfei Guoa,b, Minshi Chena,b,*, Khalgui Mohameda, Ting Qua,b, Siming Wangc, Jianke Lid
a
Institute of Internet of Things and Logistics Engineering, Jinan University, Zhuhai, 519070, China
b
School of Intelligent Systems Science and Engineering, Jinan University, Zhuhai, 519070, China
c
GREE Electric Appliances, INC. of Zhuhai, Zhuhai, 519070, China
d
Science and Technology on Reliability Physics and Application of Electronic Component Laboratory, The Fifth Electronics Research Institute of Ministry of Industry and
Information Technology, Guangzhou, 510610, China

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: In a personalized and various production mode, the production line needs to be updated quickly to meet market
Coupling problem demand. The Optimization of production line is taken as the object. To address the coupling problems, such as
Digital twin unreasonable production line layout, unbalanced process capability, inaccurate logistics distribution and un­
Flexible cellular manufacturing intelligent equipment testing, a method of flexible cellular manufacturing based on digital twin is put forward.
Simulation
Decoupling based on event mechanisms and multi-objective optimization will be used in the design of methods,
which will be continuously optimized in the simulation and will eventually be validated. After the im­
plementation of an air conditioner line, the production capacity increased by 58.3 %, the WIP decreased by 77.8
%, the balance rate of the production line increased by 25.2 %, and the per capita production capacity increased
by 29.8 %. The number of operators decreased by 28.3 %. The results show that the optimization method of
flexible cellular manufacturing based on digital twin has practical value and guiding significance to improve the
efficiency of production line.

1. Introduction products, the manufacturing industry must also study appropriate

Manufacturing industry is the main pillar of national development,
reflecting the level of science and technology of a country [1]. With the
intensification of market competition and the acceleration of product
replacement, enterprise manufacturing is changing to personalized,
various, small batch and other modes of production, leading to the
concepts of the just-in-time and intelligent production modes. However,
a traditional production line has a long production cycle, low work
efficiency, unreasonable resource allocation and so on, which can only
be solved by intelligent optimization algorithm. Nevertheless, with the
evolution of the production line operation mode, the role of intelligent
optimization algorithm is becoming weaker and weaker. Therefore, the
optimization of production line for intelligent manufacturing has gra­
dually become a hot research topic in manufacturing industry in recent
years.
With the improvement of living standards, the traditional mass
manufacturing technology can no longer meet the demand of a cus­
tomer-driven market. Therefore, in addition to adopting a design style
that can quickly adapt to the needs of customers for a variety of
production models to meet the rapid delivery time. In this way, the
production line is required to have very strong flexible manufacturing
capacity. Cellular (CELL) is also known as unit, and cellular production
is an integral part of intelligent manufacturing. Its essence is that a few
operators form an independent production unit to complete a relatively
complete series of working procedures [2]. Flexible manufacturing
system (FMS) refers to composition of a unified information control
system, a material storage and transportation system and a set of di­
gitally controlled processing equipment, it can adapt to the changes of
machining objects [3]. Therefore, the flexible cellular mode of manu­
facturing is suitable for solving the problems of redundancy and low
efficiency in the production line.
Industries that require custom production, such as automotive and
electronics, are moving towards flexible manufacturing. Such as auto­
mobile manufacturers can use the same flexible manufacturing system,
quickly and effectively produce different user configuration of the car
[4]. Many foreign enterprises, such as Canon camera and Panasonic
electronics in Japan at the beginning of the 21 st century, have begun to
study the application of cellular production [5]. In intelligent

⁎
Corresponding author at: Institute of Internet of Things and Logistics Engineering, Jinan University, Zhuhai, 519070, China.
E-mail address: minschan@stu2016.jnu.edu.cn (M. Chen).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmsy.2020.07.012
Received 30 October 2019; Received in revised form 7 June 2020; Accepted 14 July 2020
0278-6125/ © 2020 The Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: Hongfei Guo, et al., Journal of Manufacturing Systems, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmsy.2020.07.012
H. Guo, et al.
manufacturing, flexible manufacturing technology is a prominent pro­
duction strategy, combined with a cell layout, under the manufacturing
condition of "human" as the center. It can give full play to the great
function of unit flexibility [6] to ensure the individuation of products to
achieve rapid delivery and quickly occupy the market.
Clearer for the challenges facing the manufacturing industry in
achieving intelligent manufacturing. The product range is richer and
the time for new products to be brought to market is shorter, which
requires increased flexibility manufacturing and leanness. The whole
factory production line planning to be transformed, services to be
transformed, equipment to be transformed. This requires timely pro­
duction line planning and virtual optimization before it can be im­
plemented. Digital Twin will be a good binder to flexible cellular
manufacturing, which is a challenge, but this is exactly the problem
that needs to be addressed in this paper.
In the last two years, the concept of Digital Twin (DT) has been
widely adopted, which provides a new solution for the optimization of
production line system. The concept of digital twin was first proposed
by Grieves in 2003 at the course of Product Life Cycle Management at
the University of Michigan, USA [7], which was then mainly used in the
field of military industry and aerospace. The concept of manufacturing
data life cycle [8] put forward by Tao Fei in China revealed the im­
portance of digital twin data. He later put forward the digital twin five-
dimensional model and ten application fields [9], which sped up the
application of digital twin technology in manufacturing industry. Due
to the characteristics of digital twin, such as virtual and real-time in­
tegration and real-time interaction, iterative operation and optimiza­
tion, and full element / full process / full business data drive [10], at all
stages of the product life cycle, it is advanced in the application of
product design, manufacturing, service, operation and maintenance,
etc.
Digital Twin (DT) is defined as making full use of physical model,
sensor update, running history and so on. The simulation process of
multi-discipline, multiple physical quantities, multi-scale and multi-
probability is integrated to complete the mapping in a virtual space, so
as to reflect the whole life cycle process of the corresponding entity
equipment [11]. According to its definition, the technical system of
digital twin must support the elements such as virtual space, physical
space, as well as a two-way automatic data flow [12], and play a role in
whole life cycle [13]. Therefore, in flexible cellular manufacturing,
digital twins can be utilized to reduce the high cost of physical testing,
improve computing speed, realize real-time evaluation and optimiza­
tion. And the classifications of digital twins based on product life-cycle,
mainly divided into four categories, including DTs in the product de­
sign, DTs in the production, DTs in the PHM (prognostics, and health
management), DTs in other areas [14]. Above all, DTs in the production
can visualize and update the real-time status, which is useful for
monitoring and optimizing a production process.
In this paper, a flexible cellular manufacturing system based on
digital twin is proposed, which is a new method for the optimization
and Optimization of traditional production line. By using the basic idea
of digital twin, combined with the flexible cellular mode of manu­
facturing to improve the traditional production line, this paper attempts
to address the main problems such as unreasonable layout of air con­
ditioner production line, unbalanced process capability, inaccurate lo­
gistics and distribution, unintelligent equipment testing. The proposed
method is proved in the actual model of Plant Simulation to improve
the reliability of the improvement scheme, realize a flexible cellular
manufacturing system based on digital twin, and improve the efficiency
of the production line in an all-round way.
In summary, the contributions of this study to coupling problem of
production line are outlined below
(1) Under circumstance of multi-species, small-batch, high-fre­
quency customer demand order mode, it is determined that there are
complex coupling problems such as layout, production schedule, lo­
gistics, and test equipment in an production line.
2
Journal of Manufacturing Systems xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
(2) Based on the coupling problem, a novel improved model was
constructed, which combines digital twin and flexible cellular manu­
facturing.
(3) An event mechanism-based decoupling method is put forward
and it combines with multi-objective optimization to solve coupling
problems.
(4) A general procedure and framework for improvement is pro­
posed for each coupling problem.
(5) A case study of an air conditioner production line verifies the
superiority of the proposed improved model over traditional production
methods.
(6) The design of a closed-loop can achieve long-term production
line improvement.
The rest of the paper is structured as follows. Section 2 describes
coupling issues with the layout of the production line, process cap­
ability, logistics, and test equipment. Section 3 details the proposed
optimization method. On this basis, Section 4 designs an improved
model combining digital twin and cellular production, and proposes an
improved framework for each coupling problem. Section 5 provides a
case study of production line improvement. Section 6 provides some
final conclusions.
2. Problem statement
The production line studied in this paper refers to the manu­
facturing process in which enterprises use the same production system
or supply chain system to meet different customer needs or different
order batch requirements. Among them, the process mainly exists in
four aspects of optimization problems: layout, production scheduling,
logistics, test equipment.
2.1. Optimization of coupled problems
The optimization problem of the production line is a coupling
problem. It is different from the multidisciplinary coupling optimiza­
tion problem in the field of product design, and its unit optimization
characteristics are particularly fragmented, presenting unique industry
indicators [15]. For example, the coupling problem of the excitation
frequency and the natural frequency of the system leads to the re­
sonance phenomenon [16]. Similarly, the layout, production sche­
duling and logistics of the production line studied in this paper all in­
volve resource allocation and job queues, but the pursuit of
optimization objectives are different, which reflects the coupling be­
tween them. Similarly, the coupling optimization problem between the
production process and equipment testing is complex. The multi-cou­
pling relationship greatly increases the difficulty of solving problems,
and directly restricts the efficiency and execution cost of optimization,
which is also the difficulty of this paper.
2.1.1. Unreasonable layout of production line
A layout is determined by the production process. There are four
basic types of layout, namely fixed position layout, process layout, unit
layout and product layout [17]. Each layout has its own advantages.
The basic layout is mainly determined by the function of the product,
and should be simulated and modified according to the specific situa­
tion. In a cellular layout, there are many cells, each of which is designed
to produce a limited variety of products. Product layout is used for mass
production. Therefore, multiple devices or workstations are arranged in
order and the work-in-process (WIP) is moved sequentially.
2.1.2. Imbalance in production process
In this paper, the production line balancing problem referred to is
that all the work of each workstation is completed at a given time and
ensures that the workstation is operated in the shortest possible time.
The purpose of balancing the production line is to make the working
hours of all workstations in the workstation as consistent as possible
H. Guo, et al.
with the specified time [15]. The workstation with the longest com­
pletion time is the bottleneck, and the bottleneck operation time must
be reduced as much as possible to make the working time between
workstations as consistent as possible to ensure a balanced production
line.
A smooth line can balance the workload from station to station and
reduce work-in-process inventory [18]. The process capacity balance
rate of the production line can be calculated [19], as shown in the
following formula (1).
N virtual space; data layer, which refers to the twin data service platform
t
k=1 k
BR = N
t max × N (1)
where BR represents the balance rate of process capability, is
N
t
k 1 k
the sum of the time of each process, andt max
N
is the time of bottleneck
processes.
2.1.3. Inaccuracy of production logistics distribution
Generally speaking, there are multiple logistics distribution ma­
chines (such as AGVs) in the production line, so the problem is defined
as machine layout optimization to minimize the logistics route and lean
distribution time of all logistics distribution machines in the production
line. Simulate the actual production logistics, analyze the results and
determine the bottleneck problem, and put forward targeted optimi­
zation [20]. The input of the optimization model is the quantity and
characteristics of these logistics distribution machines, as well as the
processing route of all products. The output of the model is the detailed
location and operation time of each logistics distribution machine.
2.1.4. Unintelligent equipment testing
The problem Optimization of the test equipment in this paper is to
realize the intelligence, realize the function diversification, expand the
new content and function, make the test equipment more intelligent
and improve the level of test efficiency. The equipment digital testing
defined in this paper includes: process quality, completion quality, as­
sembly quality. The quality of the finished product includes the finished
product inspection of the part and the workpiece. Assembly quality
testing is the final test, advanced process testing and on-line testing are
gradually becoming the mainstream [21]. These equipment tests are
closely related to the production process, therefore they are complex
coupling issues to be optimized.
2.2. Objectives
The above problems actually have multiple goals, and different
goals can produce different optimization results [22]. The problems
usually seek a compromise solution, so that all goals are as close to their
optimal solution as possible at the same time.
The optimization of production line often considers the following
three goals:
To improve the Balance Rate (O1), the time of each process should
be close to the same.
To increase the Per Capita Productivity (O2), improve the produc­
tion efficiency of each worker.
To decrease the Number of Operators (O3), change the structure of
the production line to reduce operators.
In order to achieve the above goal of optimizing production line, the
solutions in the following sections are proposed.
3. Method
In this paper, the method of DT-based flexible cellular manu­
facturing for optimization of production line is established as shown in
Fig. 1. It mainly includes five parts:
(1) Digital Twin-Based part, including physical layer, which mainly
refers to the physical production line entities such as production line
3
Journal of Manufacturing Systems xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
people, machines and objects, and the collection of physical activities
corresponding to the physical production line, which is responsible for
the physical space realization of product production and processing,
and has the functions of self-perception, self-decision, bottom data ac­
quisition and transmission, etc.; the model layer, which mainly refers to
the digital twin production line and its corresponding virtual produc­
tion activities [23], including all kinds of models, rules and knowledge
of the virtual production line, and is responsible for the simulation,
analysis, optimization and decision-making of production activities in
of production line, which is responsible for providing data support
services for the operation of physical production line, virtual produc­
tion line and service system, and has the functions of data life cycle
management and processing, such as generation, processing, integra­
tion and integration of production line twin data;
(2) Flexible cellular manufacturing functionality, which is also
called the service layer that combines the characteristics of digital twin
technology and flexible cellular mode of manufacturing, and is re­
sponsible for providing all kinds of production line production services
for production line, such as production line production layout man­
agement, production scheduling optimization, accurate logistics dis­
tribution, talent training incentive, intelligent equipment; It also in­
cludes application layer, which mainly refers to the application
requirements of intelligent manufacturing tasks such as intelligent
production, accurate control, reliable operation and maintenance in­
volved in the processing and production of specific products, which can
interact with humans.
(3) The remaining three parts are optimization problem decoupling,
multi-objective optimization, and sub-models for optimization. Their
specifics will be covered in follow-up sections. Their relationship is that
the optimization problem needs to be decoupled first, so as to optimize
the different problems. Then the optimized parameters will be put into
the optimization sub-models for virtual modeling verification. After the
verification is correct, the actual optimization measures can be per­
formed to optimize the production line.
3.1. Decoupling of optimization problems
The optimization of the production line includes not only the design
of the geometry and function configuration, but also the dynamic
adaptability of the execution system. The improvement of the adaptive
ability of the execution system depends strictly on the understanding of
the key area problems, which requires the use of high-precision math­
ematical modeling and the fastest algorithm in the manufacturing ex­
ecution process to solve the optimization problem [15]. Because of the
difficulty in the pursuit of system modeling, it is a promising method to
introduce this special decoupling method into the digital twin of the
production line. A method of decoupling optimization based on event
mechanism has been proposed, as shown in Fig. 2, consisting of three
steps:
(1) The optimization coupling problem relies on predefined reference
models, parameters and interfaces. Identify different initial re­
ference models and interfaces, and activate different events, and
then the corresponding problems begin to be optimized. The fol­
lowing figure is an optimization event that assumes that the pro­
duction layout is activated first. Thus, the method can further
random interference and robustest by changing the activation mode
and predefined parameters.
(2) A certain sequence of problem optimization. The order of pre­
defined optimization problems is required, otherwise multiple
problem optimization methods cannot be executed, creating dead­
locks.
(3) Store intermediate components. By storing intermediate compo­
nents to save the results of the previous optimization method, the
next method reads the corresponding parameters, thus avoiding the
H. Guo, et al. Journal of Manufacturing Systems xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Fig. 1. Optimization method of production line with DT-based flexible cellular manufacturing.

use of common resources by different optimization methods, which
is the key to solve the coupling problem.
In general, the overall design of the decoupling method can not only
reduce the coupling effect between optimization problems, but also be
used for quantitative optimization.
3.2. Virtual simulation model
3.2.1. Establishment of virtual model based on DT
This paper models individual devices in 3D to precisely form entire
lines, perform physical simulations (including physical parameters,
such as settings of frictional coefficient), and evaluate the results of the
entire production line. Unlike traditional simulation architectures, si­
mulation is used as a validation tool for optimization scenarios, not just
visual displays of random events and overall optimization scenarios.
Virtual twins based on distributed simulation establish the relationship
between the physical production line and its virtual model and allow
the consistency of the optimization results and customer needs. By
constructing the simulation model of flexible cellular manufacturing
based on digital twin, the real-time information of physical production
line and virtual production line is compared, and the production ac­
tivities of production line are adjusted in time to ensure efficient pro­
duction activities.

Fig. 2. Decoupling method based on event mechanism.

4
H. Guo, et al.
Table 1
Related notations in the multi-objective optimization model.
Notations Implications
TT the takt time
k the total number of workstations
N the total number of tasks
ti the job time of task i
xik the first task assigned to the k workstation
LF the Load fluctuation between the workstations
ykp the p operator is assigned to the k workstation
cip the adjustment cost required for the ith assembly task to be completed
by the worker p
pre (j) the set of tasks that precede task i in the order in which the tasks are
completed.
The software used for production system simulation may be
Witness, Flexsim, Automod, Promodel, Extend, Arena and Plant
Simulation [24]. Useful standards for digital twin implementation in­
clude guidelines for consistently performing credible digital twin
modeling. One of them is ISO 23247 - Digital Twin Manufacturing
Framework, which is intended to provide a generic manufacturing di­
gital twin development framework that can be instantiated for case-
specific digital twin implementation. The standard will have four parts:
(1) Overview and general principles, (2) Reference architecture, (3)
Digital representation of physical manufacturing elements, and (4) In­
formation exchange [25]. Through the research, it is found that, Plant
Simulation 3D technology can simulate the real environment of mate­
rial handling and workflow in manufacturing industry, providing a
virtual simulation and dynamic layout of production line. Assume that
there is a data acquisition software combined with Plant Simulation in
the production line, which can realize the monitoring of the running
time, real-time status and the number of machined workpieces. The
statistical analysis of equipment utilization rate and product processing
of virtual production line can be fed back to production line manu­
facturing personnel in the forms of bar chart, statistical report and
Gantt chart. So Plant Simulation’s modeling of other simulation soft­
ware is more intuitive and suitable to simulate and analyze at different
resolution levels.
3.2.2. Real-time parameter transfer
The input of virtual model includes predefined parameters and
variables, and final output of optimization is the improved production
line model, scheduling scheme, execution plan and judgmental data.
They all belong to Digital Twin Data (DTD) showed as Formula (2).
The intelligent equipment on the production line is used to collect
the production data parameters in real time. They are then fed into the
model simulation platform in real time. The following DTD are con­
structed on the basis of the DT five-dimensional model proposed by Tao
Fei [8].
DTD = (DP , DM , DR , DS , DO )
where DTD mainly contains five kinds of data: physical data (DP),
simulation model data (DM), constraint data (DR), service data (DS),
generation data (DO).
3.3. Multi-objective optimization model
Multi-objective optimization is a variety of optimization calcula­
tions for scenarios and plans for balance rate, per capita productivity,
operator, etc. In fact, static optimization methods are validated by
dynamic execution of simulation results, while dynamic execution is
promoted by the adjustment of static optimization methods. In this
interaction, the potential coupling between material optimization, en­
ergy consumption, and resource scheduling constrains execution effi­
ciency and is validated by physical simulation. For coupling optimiza­
tion problems, a multi-objective solution to the optimization method
Journal of Manufacturing Systems xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
needs to be done on a case-by-case basis.
The mathematical model of production line rebalance is established
by minimizing the takt time, the load fluctuation between workstations
and the adjustment cost of operators to complete new tasks. Multi-ob­
jective optimization algorithms include traditional optimization algo­
rithms and intelligent optimization algorithms. The former is to trans­
form the multi-objective function into a single-objective function, and
the solution of multi-objective function is achieved by using the single-
objective optimization method. In actual engineering, however, it is not
possible to fully incorporate these objectives into one goal. At the same
time, in different situations, each goal has different weights, which is
difficult to give an ideal strategy. Therefore, this article uses genetic
algorithm to achieve multi-objective optimization, and find pareto op­
timality. The system parameters are automatically optimized by using
the genetic algorithm built in Plant Simulation, in order to rebalance
the improved production line. Related notations in the multi-objective
optimization model are listed as Table 1.
(A) The minimized takt time is
N
min TT = max ti x ik
1 k K
i=1 (3)
(B) Minimize the load fluctuation between the workstations, that is,
using the average deviation of the load on each workstation as an index
to describe the degree of deviation of the load on each workstation from
the production beat. Ensure that the total operating time of each task
assigned to each workstation is as equal as possible.
K N 2
( tx TT )
min LF = K =1 i = 1 i ik
K (4)
(C) Minimize the rebalancing adjustment cost, that is, the corre­
sponding task is assigned to an appropriate worker to operate, such that
the rebalancing adjustment cost caused by the worker to complete the
task is minimized.
N K P
min C = cip x ik ykp
i=1 k =1 p =1 (5)
The constraint is
n
xik = 1 i = 1, 2, ,n
i=1 (6)
m
(kx ik kxjk ) 0, i pre (j)
(7)
k= 1
Formula (3) takes the maximum working time value of the work­
station as the takt time, Formula (4) optimizes the load fluctuation of
each workstation to ensure the load balance of each workstation.
Formula (5) indicates that the adjustment cost required to realize the
rebalancing of the production line is the minimum; Formula (6) ensures
(2)
that each task is assigned to only one of the workstations; Formula (7)
indicates that the assignment of tasks must follow the priority of tasks.
4. Sub-models for optimization
4.1. Optimization of production layout based on Digital Twin
Previous research about layout optimization is generally determined
on the basis of the intensity of material flow [2], which is difficult to
adapt to changeable situation. Then a more flexible way came into
being through a layout optimization model based on fuzzy demand and
machine flexibility. And a genetic algorithm was developed to solve the
model [17]. But now a more intelligent method with Digital Twin has
not applied in the field of production layout. Inspired by the research of
integration of Digital Twin of a Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) into the
Manufacturing Execution System (MES) [26], this study make decision
5
H. Guo, et al.
Fig. 3. Schematic diagram of production line layout improvement based on digital twin.
through the MES and Industrial Distribution System (IDS) to control the
optimization of layout.
The Optimization of production layout based on digital twin is
mainly divided into four parts: the physical layer of equipment, the
digital modeling layer, the control system and information among them
as shown in Fig. 3. First of all, a real-time data acquisition of the
equipment is carried out by using sensors, and then the data transmitted
to the digital model to calculate an optimal equipment layout planning.
During this period, the MES and IDS of the control center are needed to
control the production information, and the field monitoring center
collects and issues on-site information and digital instructions through
the control network, and arranges and plans the physical operation of
the equipment.
In this study, the production line layout is adjusted, and a flexible
line cell station is introduced into the same layered layout to form
continuous flow production. A numerical control program is used to
record the production data of the equipment, so as to provide data
support for digital modeling and facilitate the optimization of layout
and motion planning.
4.2. Optimization of production line production scheduling based on digital
twin
Scheduling methods that sequence jobs based on the sums of pro­
cessing times, which is the metric that balances the workstation [19].
With the update of products, the FMS is propose to achieve a dynamic
scheduling [3]. Actually, optimization of scheduling needs two-way
automatic data flow most and timely feedback. Therefore, the combi­
nation of scheduling and digital twin will be an excellent method.
The digital twin driven scheduling mode is supported by a virtual
and real mapping and interactive integration of all elements, full data,
full model and whole space. A new scheduling mechanism is formed,
which is a virtual-real response, virtual-real interaction, virtual control
real and iterative optimization, and realizes the collaborative matching
and continuous optimization of "workpiece, machine, constraint, ob­
jective" scheduling elements [27]. The optimization of production line
production scheduling based on digital twin, as shown in Fig. 4, mainly
constructs the channel of iterative optimization and real-time feedback
between a physical production line and a virtual production line, which
can enable the production to be scheduled in time.
In this study, the virtual-real interaction behavior is studied
6
Journal of Manufacturing Systems xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
systematically, and a virtual-real interaction mechanism under self-or­
ganization, self-learning and self-optimization mechanism is revealed,
so as to realize the optimal matching and efficient operation of sche­
duling elements. With the respect to dynamic iterative optimization, a
new scheduling optimization method is studied, which can carry out
independent decision-making, dynamic iteration and continuous opti­
mization of "task-resource". According to the production data collected
in the physical production line, the virtual production line in the
scheduling system optimizes the constraints, including the process
constraints, equipment capacity constraints, work characteristics con­
straints and scheduling performance index constraints. After peeling off
the small order, the flexible cellular line integrates SMED (Single
Minute Exchange of Die) technology to greatly reduce the switching
time loss caused by various, small batch and high frequency order in the
cell station.
Therefore, if implement the optimization measure, multiple cell
stations will be operated separately. At the same time, the material
preparation according to DT’s feedback will be carried out for multiple
cell stations. The on-line check time before the improvement is con­
verted into the off-line check time; that is, the material information is
checked outside the line.
4.3. Lean distribution of production logistics based on Digital Twin
For the optimization of logistics system, the current research mainly
reduce the length of the distribution path and improve the production
efficiency as a sub-index, then their proposed method is verified by
simulation or other calculating means [20]. However, such approach is
time-lapse and does not make it possible for two-way automatic data
flow like digital twin achieving instant feedback.
Therefore, the lean distribution of production logistics based on
digital twin makes the management and control mode of production
logistics more intelligent [28]. As shown in Fig. 5, it is mainly com­
posed of two layers: (1) the physical layer, where the transportation
equipment has the ability of self-decision and communication, and the
corresponding logistics and distribution rules; and (2) the information
layer, from the processing of the real-time information of the physical
world to the processing of the twin data predicted by information si­
mulation; from the passive central system allocation to the active de­
cision-making of the "grab" task with the handling carrier as the core.
Finally, the control mode is changed from superior command to multi-
H. Guo, et al.
Fig. 4. Schematic diagram of production line scheduling optimization based on digital twin.
device interaction and cooperation in order to realize self-organizing
and adaptive feedback control.
This paper studies the decision-making mechanism of material dis­
tribution driven by real-time information, using the technologies of
twin data, information sharing and model predictive control, based on
the combinatorial optimization of material transportation tasks.
Uniform distribution rules and production line logistics information are
established to optimize the production logistics distribution in the di­
gital twin system, so as to improve the transportation efficiency and
adaptability to the changing environment and realize the logistics
transparency. The traditional "black box" mode transform to real-time
transparent in the situation of materials and handling carriers, which is
good to real-time tracking and lean distribution.
(1) Establishment of lean logistics with uniform rules
For small order production, the establishment of material distribu­
tion as shown in Fig. 6, is adopted to eliminate the problem of material
shortage, and to solve the problem of rapid switching of materials. In
order to ensure an absolute uniform distribution of the cell line material
to the final assembly, combined with the material situation of the in­
ternal machine, which is the real-time information, a uniform modulus
of a flexible line is designed to be the corresponding sets, which is
convenient for visual monitoring, reduces the error rate of quality and
improves the traceability of materials.
Fig. 5. Principle diagram of lean distribution of production logistics based on digital twin.
7
Journal of Manufacturing Systems xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
• Complete set area: With Kanban pull to achieve optimal average
hours calculated by DT in advance of material preparation.
• Component preassembly area: logistics support, through Kanban
drive the material preparation of complete set area I and promote a
rapid and balanced production of cell line.
• Small pieces sorting area: the introduction of visual lighting system
to assist the rapid sorting of small parts to ensure quantity and
quality.
• Complete set area: promote rapid production according to the pro­
gress of final assembly production.
(2) Design of Fast sorting and Lighting system for flexible Line
Establish a lighting system, so that the warehouse can export spare
parts through logistics distribution. Employees select small parts ac­
cording to the lights, which is shown as Fig. 7. It can realize automatic
extraction of picking information, rapid selection of small parts, im­
plement lighting of demanded screws, quantity indication, reduction of
waste of employee searching, and solve the problem of Insufficient
quantity of material.
(3) Application of Intelligent calling Technology of "Multi-mouthed
Cat"
The "multi-mouth cat" intelligent pager (also known as the material
demand pager), such as the Model of the material demand pager in
Fig. 8 are introduced. The cell station calls the distribution area in
H. Guo, et al.
Fig. 6. Overall layout planning and logistics distribution route.
Fig. 7. Fast sorting and lighting system for flexible lines.
Fig. 8. Model of material requirement pager.
advance according to corresponding sets of modulus consumption, so as
to realize a timely distribution to ensure the continuity of production,
and a proper inventory for two hours, thus putting an end to the pro­
blem of too much or low stock.
4.4. Optimization of test equipment based on digital twin
Existing equipment testing has evolved into digitalization [21].
However, there is still a lack of virtual and physical information feed­
back. Tao Fei et al. point out that there are information and data flows
between physical and virtual products, which makes virtual verification
8
Journal of Manufacturing Systems xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
possible [29]. It is derived from this that the finished products of
manufacturing industry also has virtual and physical space of the object
so as to effectively complete the quality test. Digital twin is the best way
to do this.
The digital twin-driven test mode constructs a high fidelity test
system and a virtual model of the tested object in the virtual space.
With the help of the technology of real-time transmission of test data
and test instruction transmission, driven by historical data and real-
time data, the high fidelity simulation and interaction between physical
tested object and virtual tested object are realized [30]. The principle of
equipment test improvement based on digital twin is shown in Fig. 9.
The modeling of digital twin test system in this study is a dynamic
system modeling for the behavior of test objects, which lays the foun­
dation for test data flow management. The operator inputs control in­
structions, analyses in the digital virtual space, and then outputs the
test start signal through the controller, produces the data collected by
the sensor to the physical entity, transmits it to the control system
through the network, and finally displays it to the operator in real time
through the man-machine interactive interface to achieve the physical
integration of the test system information.
Through the research and development of an open intelligent
testing tool and intelligent testing system, taking into account the
production information data interface and intelligent system control, a
standardized and conformance testing mode can be realized by central
management computer monitoring. The flow chart of the specific in­
telligent testing system is shown in Fig. 10, which can solve the bot­
tleneck problem of low testing efficiency of the production line.
Changing the fault of the production line cannot directly judge, analyze
and prompt problems, which improves the level of test efficiency.
(1) improve efficiency: the test efficiency will be improved, which
provides support for the subsequent flexible line automation produc­
tion, and has more room for improvement in production capacity.
(2) improve the quality: reduce the test labor intensity, reduce the
human factors, realize the intelligent test judgment, and further im­
prove the consistency and reliability of the product test process.
(3) flexible manufacturing: support flexible automatic testing as
well as latest function expansion and testing, and provide good tech­
nical support for the production mode of various, small batch and high
efficiency production.
5. Case study
5.1. Background
5.1.1. Unreasonable layout of production line
Before the improvement, the layout of an production line is cross-
floor, and the total length of the line is about 130 m, across 3 floors as
shown in Fig. 11. The problem is that the line is too long by lying on 3
floors and that therefore the production flow is interrupted. This will
H. Guo, et al. Journal of Manufacturing Systems xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Fig. 9. Schematic diagram of equipment test improvement based on digital twin.

lead to the production discontinuity, unsmooth of operation informa­

tion flow, and the redundancy of personnel set up, resulting in the loss
of line stopping and waiting for order switching. Therefore, it is im­
perative to optimize the layout of the production line, form continuous
flow production and improve production efficiency. A 30-meter-long
flexible line established to avoid the collapse of the production line, as
well as to achieve close communication between employees, and
eliminate the phenomenon of unobstructed information flow.

5.1.2. Imbalance in process capability

There are 55 working procedures completed by 159 operators in the
production line. As shown in Fig. 12, while the horizontal axis is the
process, and the vertical axis is the time (seconds). There are 30 pro­
cesses beyond the beat time, identified as the bottleneck process. While
the other processes do not exceed the beat, the waiting time is uneven,
and the production balance rate is seriously out of balance. Apparently,
uneven distribution of production time in each process, many bottle­
neck processes, and long personnel waiting time are the main problems.
According to the calculation of the working time diagram of the
processes before the improvement in Fig. 12 and formula (1), the pro­
cess capacity balance rate of the production line is 66.2 %, which is low.
Fig. 11. Schematic diagram of production line layout before improvement.
5.1.3. Inaccuracy of production logistics distribution
Before the improvement, the material of multiple orders is stacked
on the edge of the production line. When switching between large and
small orders, the material cannot check the material data information
such as coding, planning, model and so on in advance. This affects the
switching process, resulting in each process to stop in order to verify
material information, which is a great waste of time and personnel.

Fig. 10. Flow chart of intelligent test system based on digital twin.

9
H. Guo, et al. Journal of Manufacturing Systems xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Fig. 12. Diagram of balance rate analysis of production line.

5.1.4. Unintelligent equipment testing

The test of the production line is one of the bottleneck problems.
Because the production line uses the traditional test electric control
box, fault cannot be judged, analyzed and prompted directly. Therefore,
it is necessary to realize the function diversification after using an in­
telligent test tool and expand its new content and function, thus making
equipment more intelligent and improving test efficiency.

5.2. Analysis of simulation results

According to the layout of the production line, equipment produc­

tion capacity, technological process and resource status, the software
Plant Simulation is used to build the virtual production line, as shown
in Figs. 13 and 14.
According to the analysis of Fig. 15, after the implementation of the
simulation improvement scheme, with the increase of time, not only the
number of products increased faster and the frequency of short contact
is more balanced, but also the time interval is more balanced. It can be
seen that the production capacity of the flexible cellular line is better
than the traditional production line layout, the number of products
produced in the same time is more, and the interval between the two
adjacent products is more stable. After the improvement, not only the
production capacity and equipment utilization rate, also the stability
and continuity of the production process have been improved.
Table 2 shows that the improvement effect of the flexible cellular
manufacturing method based on digital twin is more obvious than that
of the traditional optimization method, and then from the chart of the
change of the number of WIP with time before and after the improve­
ment, as shown in Fig. 16, the number of WIP decreases more with
time, and the frequency decreases greatly, indicating that the inter­
mediate WIP of the production line has been well improved. Second,
Fig. 13. Simulation layout diagram of production line (before: cross-floor op­
eration).
with respect to the production line, it can be inferred that each process
is more balanced, not only has the working time of each bottleneck
process been improved, but also the production capacity of the whole
production line has been released. The objectivity and reliability of the
digital twin mode are comprehensively verified, and the improvement
scheme is feasible and effective.
5.3. Implementation of optimization measures and results
According to the optimization results of digital twin simulation
model, the effect of digital twin improvement is much better than that
of traditional improvement. Hence the Optimization of flexible cellular

10
H. Guo, et al.
Fig. 14. Simulation layout diagram of production line (after).
manufacturing based on digital twin can better solve the problems of
production line layout, production scheduling, logistics distribution and
testing equipment. The virtual simulation data is fed back to the actual
production line in real time, and the improvement scheme is im­
plemented. Combined with the data before and after the improvement,
this paper summarizes the comparison of the comprehensive effect of
the production line before and after the improvement. From the si­
mulation results, it can be seen that the equipment utilization rate and
the key process utilization rate of the improved production line are
much higher than those before the improvement, and after the actual
implementation of the scheme, the value-added rate and balance rate of
the production line are greatly improved, as shown in Table 3. It shows
that the practical application of the flexible cellular manufacturing
based on digital twin is meaningful.
(1) Optimization of process balance rate
In the flexible cellular mode of manufacturing based on digital twin,
intelligent equipment and system are used to reduce manual operation.
At the same time, according to the E (elimination) principle of ECRS
(eliminate, combine, rearrange, simplify) principle [31], part of the
process can be completed by machine, part of the process can be
eliminated, and the operation time of bottleneck process can be reduced
at the same time. According to the principle of C (merger), most of the
processes are merged to make it easier to form cells and to be operated
by an employee. To sum up, the production line has been improved
from 55 processes to 17 processes, and an analysis diagram of process
balance rate is drawn as shown in Fig. 17.
According to the improved process operation time diagram and
formula (1), the process capacity balance rate of the production line is
calculated to be 82.9 %. It can be seen that the process capacity balance
rate of the production line has been significantly improved.
(2) Increase in per capita productivity
The traditional production line has 159 people, and each shift works
10.5 h with a production of 783 units. It has three shifts, and the per
capita productivity is 1.41 units/person/hour; after the implementation
of flexible cellular line, the production line has 114 people, and each
Fig. 15. Comparison of production capacity.
11
Journal of Manufacturing Systems xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
shift works 10.5 h, producing 1100 units. It has a double shifts pro­
duction, and the comprehensive per capita productivity is 1.83 units/
person/hour, the comprehensive productivity is increased by 29.8 %.
(3) Reduction of number of operators
Taking the daily output of 2350 units as the standard, it is necessary
to input 159 people to improve the productivity of 1.41 units/person/
hour, which can be reduced by 159-(54−2-6) = 45 people. At the same
time, according to the annual wage of 70,000 yuan per person, the
labor cost can be reduced 3.15 million yuan per year. After the im­
plementation of cell station operation, one person is responsible for the
operation of one air conditioner machine. The daily output and per
capita productivity continue to rise, indicating the high efficiency of
flexible cellular manufacturing based on digital twin is high.
5.4. Continuous optimization of interactive feedback
Through the optimization of the production value flow of air con­
ditioner products, the personnel structure and manufacturing method
of the production line are improved, reducing the production cost. The
production efficiency and product value-added rate are improved at the
same time. The model mentioned in this paper can further enhance its
scope of application by using big data and artificial intelligence tech­
nology. For example, developing and running intelligent manufacturing
systems at different levels, such as intelligent manufacturing cells, in­
telligent production lines, intelligent factories, and intelligent in­
dustries, to support innovative manufacturing models, including pro­
cess intelligent manufacturing, discrete intelligent manufacturing,
network collaborative manufacturing, remote diagnostics and main­
tenance services [32].
Production line improvement is a long-term work. At this stage one
should continue to collect data to confirm the improvement effect, and
re-grasp the current situation analysis, step by step, continue to im­
prove production efficiency. As shown in Fig. 18, the interactive feed­
back continuous improvement production line, while summarizing the
previous work, uses RFID card readers and other hardware equipment
to collect real-time data in the process of air conditioner production. In
the interactive application system, the physical information and digital
information are optimized to improve the relevant indicators of the
product step by step [33]. According to the above application of the
flexible cellular manufacturing system based on digital twin, the
scheme of continuous improvement in the future is simulated. It can be
seen that the data interactive feedback based on digital twin can further
improve the production line and increase the production capacity. The
number of products in progress is reduced, and the production capacity
and production efficiency of the production line are improved. There­
fore, in the future improvement work, digital twin technology and
cellular mode of production can be continuously and effectively in­
tegrated for the optimization of production line.
6. Conclusion
In the case of multi-species, small-batch, high-frequency customer
H. Guo, et al. Journal of Manufacturing Systems xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Table 2
Comparison of traditional and digital twin way of improvement (at 30000 s).
Production line Production capacity (unit) Work in progress (unit)

Traditional way of improvement 600 45

Digital twin + flexible cellular mode of manufacturing 950 10
Comparison of effects Increase by 58.3 % Decrease by 77.8 %

Fig. 16. Comparison of changes in the quantity of works in progress.

Table 3
Comprehensive comparison before and after improvement.
Product line Balance rate (%) Per capita productivity (unit/ person/ h) Operator (person)

Traditional line (before) 66.2 % 1.41 159

Flexible line (After) 82.9 % 1.83 114
Improvement effect Increased by 25.2 % Increased by 29.8 % Reduced by 28.3 %

Fig. 17. Analysis of process balance rate.

demand order mode, this paper proposes a flexible cellular manu­
facturing method based on digital twins to design and optimize the
production line. It mainly studies the optimization of production layout,
production scheduling, logistics and distribution and test equipment. It
is difficult to solve these problems of coupling, so the method of de­
coupling based on event mechanism is designed. On this basis, four
problems are decoupled and multi-objective optimization is carried out
according to their respective optimization sub-models. By simulation
and optimization, the final output is the validated optimization scheme.
The case studies from an air conditioner production line. Compared
with the traditional optimization methods, the production capacity and
work-in-process based on digital twin cell mode increased by 58.3 %
and 77.8 % respectively. After improvement, the balance rate increased
by 25.2 %, the per capita production capacity increased by 29.8 %, and
the number of operators decreased by 28.3 %. The practical results
show that the principle model of flexible cellular manufacturing based
on digital twin is an effective way to optimize the production line of
enterprises. It is an effective tool for enterprises to eliminate informa­
tion blocking, increase production capacity and implement intelligent
manufacturing in the process of product manufacturing.
This study theoretically enriches the decision-making theory of the
effective combination of basic industrial engineering and modern
manufacturing industry. In the analysis of production line optimization
in manufacturing enterprises, the combination of digital twin and
flexible cellular manufacturing is adopted to achieve a better im­
provement effect. In practice, the results of this study not only can solve
the problems of similar production lines substantially in our enterprise,
but also can be widely used to solve the decision-making problems in

12
H. Guo, et al.
Fig. 18. Production line of interactive feedback and continuous improvement.
the process of production line optimization in the whole industry,
which has a wide range of applicability and strong practical value. The
practical experience shows that in the export order production mode of
various, small batch and high frequency, the use of flexible cellular
manufacturing technology can greatly improve the production effi­
ciency and meet the requirements of export delivery time. And this
technology can be widely used in the field of air conditioner, small
household appliances and electronic industry.
One of the challenges is how to realize intelligent decoupling of
complex problems, and the other is how to design DT system to update
parameters independently to optimize problems. Future work will build
on the DT's ability to capture direct data from limited physical sensor
indicators, using big data and machine learning to infer indicators that
would otherwise not be measured directly. This realizes an assessment
of the current state, the diagnosis of past problems, and predictions of
future trends. And the results of analysis and simulating possibilities
will provide more comprehensive decision support.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors report no declarations of interest.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China [51875251], the Science and Technology Plan
Project in Guangzhou [202002030321], the Science and Technology
Plan Project in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region [2019GG238], the
Guangzhou Leading Innovation Team Program [201909010006], the
Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province of
China [2019A1515110399] and the Guangdong Academic Degree and
Graduate Education Reform Research Project [2019JGXM15].
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