We live in the middle of a new, exciting and ongoing industrial revolution, often referred to as the industry 4.0. A fourth technological wave building on previous radical innovations. Some of which have had significant impacts in the way we live and work. One specific example, like the title says, is Digital Twin Simulations for palletizing solutions.
The digital twin technology is a part of a new, ongoing industrial revolution. It is merging reality with the virtual world to create predictions of how processes or products behave in real life. This technology provide engineers and software developers with the tool needed to ensure next level output quality. The benefits of using digital twin technology can be astronomical.
In this article, we’ll talk about using digital twin technology to simulate palletizing projects. This is is our area of expertise. But what is digital twins?
Bellow we”ll try to give you a basic understanding of this revolutionary technology before we talk about its benefits and how it can be used. Then we will further explore the possibilities of using digital twin technology to simulate cobot palletizing solutions.
Scientific fortune-telling
In its core, the digital twin technology is a computer program. It uses real world data input to create simulations of products or processes. And these simulations will try to predict how they will perform in the future. In other words, it is a digital representation of the real world.
In simpler terms, the technology we speak of could be understood as some sort of a fortune teller. To some extent it’s actually a quite accurate understanding.
This is because both have the goal to predict information. But there is one important difference. While the digital twin processes real world data, the fortune teller is most likely a shady con artist.
Anyway, the gathered data will be processed to construct a virtual 3D dynamic model. A visual simulation with incredible accuracy and detail. By comparing these simulations with the physical world, they become almost indistinguishable. Kind of like the visuals some might expect to appear within a magic crystal ball.
The technology can be used in many different areas and we’ll show you some examples shortly. But first, lets dive into the different benefits you can experience with digital twins.
Benefits with digital twin technology
The possibilities with digital twins can be vast with far reaching benefits.
- First of all you can save money. Building a digital replica of real objects is cheaper than actually making them.
- You’ll have the opportunity to experiment with versions of the same solution. This will help you to find the best possible product/process with the most performance and value.
- It can be used to test and verify the feasibility of a project. This can provide reassurances and the trust you need in the decision-making process.
- With the use of a digital twin, it is possible to speed up the risk assessment as well as the production time.
- By analyzing data proactively, you can identify potential problems and schedule predictive maintenance.
- It can help you remotely control and keep track of the system performance in real time. This is otherwise close to impossible to do with large physical systems.
How can digital twin technology be used?
Here are three examples of how the technology is used. Keep in mind that we are only dipping our toes in the ocean at this point. The possibilities could also be found in many other areas too!
Jet engine monitoring
For instance, it is possible to create a digital twin of an aircraft jet engine. With enough accurate data. you can actually simulate its future health. This allows you to keep track of the engine in flight and determine its future behavior. As a result, this brings next level safety standards. By predicting fatal failures, it’s possible to avoid experiencing them at all.
City infrastructure monitoring
Another way to use the digital twin technology, is to simulate city infrastructure. If the goal is to improve transportation and travel systems, this tool can be very useful. First, you’ll have to gather enough accurate data to create a digital replica of the city. Then you can add new solutions to investigate the potential benefits.
Digital twin simulation development at Amazon
There is also exciting development going on at Amazon. Scientists and engineers are now developing a new generation of simulation tools.
The goal is to make them accurate enough to develop and test robotic systems. Robotics R&D can then start with simulations, rather than building physical systems. But first they have to master visual realism and accurate physics. If they do, this could be a game changer for robotics development.
Hopefully, you’ve gotten a basic understanding of digital twins by now. So we will continue this article focusing on how this technology is useful for cobot palletizing solutions. If you are not sure what that is, don’t worry and keep on reading.
What’s a cobot?
Collaborative robots (cobots) differ from traditional robots in several ways. They can share workspace alongside people and are easy to operate. Thus, cobots are typically smaller, slower and have smoother edges. They are well suited for many tasks within product manufacturing. Examples of this can be machine tending, welding and palletizing.
..and a palletizing solution?
To make a complete cobot palletizing solution, you’ll need some important components. A crucial component is the vacuum gripper which makes it able to pick up and place boxes on pallets. But you also want a software meant for palletizing, so that it knows what to do and how to do it.
The challenge of buying a cobot palletizer
To be honest, it’s not like buying a lamp at IKEA. In fact, most buyers have very specific needs which require customized solutions. These requirements are often based on production rate, weight and size.
The main issue for the customer is that they wonder if it will perform at all. If it will work in their manufacturing facility with their own products. Since they need real reassurances that it will work, it can make the decision to invest in a solution difficult.
This is exactly where digital twin technology can be exceptionally helpful.
Installing the right palletizer is more complex than you think. The feasibility analysis from Rocketfarm is extremely accurate and has become a “must have” when proposing palletizing solutions to customers.
Emil Nissfolk
Kameleon Robotics AB, Swedish distributor, integrator and UR Gold Partner
Digital Twin Simulations for palletizing projects
Some end-customers understandably have a difficult time believing these solutions will work. Therefore, visualization has become very important. Digital Twin Simulations solve this challenge by showing you right away exactly what you are getting.
The biggest advantage of our simulations, is that they run on the same exact software and hardware. It runs on the same Polyscope version and the same Pally version as the actual UR robot. This makes it as good as in real life!
But how do you get a simulation like this you may ask? It is actually quite easy. Check for yourself in our YouTube-video:
MyRobot.cloud – The Fast Track to Cobot Palletizing
MyRobot.cloud is our latest product-service for you to use, free of charge. It’s a cobot palletizing search engine tool, that will match your production requirements with solution providers.
By entering basic information about your product, you will receive a Digital Twin Simulation. This 3D simulation video will show you a digital cobot, suitable for palletizing your specific products. Also, you get a detailed project report that tells you all the technical details you need to make a qualified purchase decision.
Together, the simulation and the project report will act as an upfront verification of your project – meaning that the suggested solution will work in real life.
Conclusion
Digital twin is one of the most powerful technologies to date. It’s currently changing how we work and approach new projects.
It can help our businesses grow by getting the reassurances needed to make decisions. It can speed up the production while saving money. Also, digital twins helps us find the best solutions and maintain them in due time.
Our Digital Twin Simulations for palletizing solutions will provide as a helpful tool. Especially for our end-costumers trying to find a palletizing solution, because often they need customized solutions for their unique production line.
If you have any questions about palletizing or our simulations, please contact us. We are here to help! If you’re interested in the technology we work with, you can also sign up to our newsletter below.
Reach out if you would like to learn more about how Pally can help you achieve your goals in automated palletizing.
Brigt Grepstad Røysum
Channel Executive at Rocketfarm AS
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