Digital technologies for design and performance optimization of manufacturing lines in industry 4.0
Creators: name: Dammacco, Lucilla
Publisher: name: Politecnico di Bari
Year: 2024

description: Theparadigmof Industry4.0(I4.0) is propelling the development of smart factories,where in physical and digital systems are seamlessly integrated to achieve fast production and flexible mass personalization.Thecoreofsuchanindustrialrevolutionisthepromiseofextraordinarilyhigh operationalproductivityandefficiencythroughtheestablishmentofahighdegreeofconnectivity betweentherealandvirtualworlds. Inthisregard, industrial taskshave longbeenastrong suit fordigital technologiessuchasVirtualReality (VR)andDigitalTwin(DT).Numerous benefitsandmajorobstaclestotheadoptionofdigitaltoolshavebeenidentifiedbyathorough reviewof the literature; these issuesarecurrentlybeingaddressedthroughresearchprojects andusersurveys. For instance,VRisdemonstratingsignificantpotentialasarobusttool for costreductioninbothproductionanddesignbyidentifyingandanticipatingeventualassembly issues intheengineeringstage. Simultaneously,DTtoolsarechangingindustrialprocedures bybuildingdigital representationsofactual systemsthatprovidereal-time information, and opportunitiesforpredictivemaintenance,andoptimization. Industrialbusinessesareredefining traditionaldesignandthe integrationofparts, equipment, andservices, leveragingbothVR andDTtofacilitatecommunicationbetweenoperatorsandmachinerytostaycompetitivein themarket.Thepossibilitiesfor individualandgroupcollaboration,machine-to-machineand evenmachine-to-industrialobject interactionsarebeingopenedupbydigital technologies.The ultimategoal istoincorporateVRapplicationsandDTfunctionalitiesintodetailedsimulation modelsaspartoftheendeavourtoincorporatetheseresearchobjectivesandvariousdigitalization toolsintotheanalysis. Thefirst focusof this thesis’s researchis toexaminethecurrent stateofVRtechnology andhowitcanbeusedinthemanufacturingindustry. VRtechnologieshavegenerallybeen employedinthetrainingof industrialoperatorsfortasksrelatedtomaintenanceandassembly, aswellas intheVR-assisteddesignreviews forergonomicassessments.Asafirstphase, this studyinvestigatestheintegrationofVRintomanufacturingprocesses,specificallyfocusingonthe intricatedesignsystemsofanelectricaxleproductionline,andhowVRcouldimprovebusiness andproductdevelopment.Duringthisphase,adetailedprocessformovingfromcomputer-aided design(CAD)toVRisalsooutlined. Subsequently, theresearchexaminestwodistinctcase studieswithintheorganizationMasmecSpA,anautomotivecompanyleaderoftheItalianand Europeanmarket.Toimprovetheergonomicsofcomplicatedproductionlines,first, theresearch definesthe"VirtualGoldenZoneMethodology"andproposesVRtoolstoimplementsucha methodologyinareal-worldsetting. Second,withanemphasisondecision-makingandcontrol strategiesformaximizingmaterialflow,operatorflow,andlogisticsacrossmultiplestations, the focusisshiftedtomodellingproductionandlogisticsprocesses. Similarly,digitalmodelslikeDTgreatlyaidtheplanningprocessbyenablingexperiments and"whatif"scenariotestingwithoutinterferingwithproductionsystems’continuousoperations. These toolsplayedakeyrole inthe case studysimulation, digital productionmodels, and operationaloptimizationofproductionlines,plants,andindividual logisticsprocesses—witha focusonautomatedguidedvehiclepaths—allofwhichwereoptimized.Theresearchthenmoved forwardtoclarifyhowdifferentdigitaltechnologiesinteractwithoneanotherandtodesignate specificfunctionsforeachtoolthroughouttheproject.Toassessvariousproductionscenarios andfacilitateinformeddecision-makingfromtheoutsettoongoingproductionmonitoring,this phase involved theuseof sophisticated analytical tools likestatistics, charts, and bottleneck analysis. Interestingly, thedefinitionofahierarchicalDT,whichoutlinedtheimportantroles thateachdigitaltoolplaysacrossvariousprocesslevelsinmanufacturingsystems,wasthestage’s culmination. Inconclusion,encouragingtheintegrationbetweenVRtoolsandDTsimulationtechniques hasthepotential toofferusersaproductiveandenjoyableexperiencethatpromotes inspiration, cooperation,andcreativity.Topromotecreativity,productivity,andefficiencyinmanufacturing processes, thisresearchprojectcontributestotheadvancementofknowledgeacrossthecomplex intersectionsofdigital technologies.