Operational Implementation of Digital Production Twins in Single and Small Batch Production

The recent outbreak of SARS-CoV-19 and the subsequent production shutdowns have shown that many manufacturing companies within the single and small batch production are not able to react and adapt quickly to the circumstances of minimum physical contact and shifting customer demands. In the age of digitization, this flexibility can be achieved by the intelligent interlinkage of systems and production resources, which enables the recording and processing of data to virtual images of all physical production processes. These virtual images are known as digital production twins and can be accessed by anyone at anytime and anywhere. Due to data-based optimization, this allows for a higher degree of flexibility regarding unexpected events as well as a higher performance and efficiency of production processes. In order to achieve these objectives, this paper focusses on the operational implementation of digital production twins within companies of single and small batch production. The implementation procedure is vividly described by the use case of a change request received by a company during final assembly.