IS VIRTUALITY
THE NEW REALITY?
Virtual Manufacturing is the virtual reflection of an
Evolving technology removes barriers to utilization
actual manufacturing process, enabling engineers
Virtual Manufacturing was first used to reduce time to
market in the product development process. Since then
the technology has greatly improved, and application areas
have multiplied. As a consequence of the increasing degree
of digitalization in the manufacturing industry there has
been an increased availability of data, improved technology
and increased possibilities for system integration.
Trends indicate that utilization is spreading from solely
being used by manufacturers with very high production
volumes and high product complexity, to those with lower
production volumes and product complexity. These are the
actors that have had enough resources and ability to find
many application areas of Virtual Manufacturing. With many
to replace physical experiments and prototypes with
virtual ones. The concept includes all applications
of simulations and virtual representations, such as
the use of 3D environments, relating to manufacturing. Already in the 90’s Virtual Manufacturing was
first successfully used in product development processes in the aerospace and automotive industries.
Today, two decades later, the application areas of
Virtual Manufacturing are plentiful and comprise
the whole manufacturing value chain. With an ever
increasing pressure for competitiveness, companies are constantly looking into how to improve
their operations. Many are currently discussing
Production
Volume
Machine
Parts
High
how they best can benefit from up and coming
technology, in what areas and from which applica-
Telecom
Equipment
tions. The real potential of Virtual Manufacturing
is now finally about to be released.
This newsletter is based on Triathlon findings from
industry interviews with Nordic manufacturing
companies as well as additional Triathlon research.
Commercial
Vehicles
Low
High
The application areas of
Virtual Manufacturing are many
The application areas of Virtual Manufacturing are today many.
These are divided into the following three main categories:
1 Product introduction
2 Production and internal logistics
3 Human factors and training
Following details on the application areas of Virtual
Manufacturing are based on interviews with Nordic executives, who all shared their extensive insights in the field,
and their visions for the potential of Virtual Manufacturing
in future industry.
FACTORY OPTIMIZATION CASE
Jet
Aircraft
Technology Barriers
Low
technology barriers being removed, a much wider industry
utilization of Virtual Manufacturing is developing.
Product
Complexity
Figure 1. Ilustration of increased utlization of Virtual Manufacturing, exemplified with
selected types of products and constantly moving technology barriers.
Ford Motor Company, the fourth largest car manufacturer in the world, has successfully used Virtual
Manufacturing in their production. By simulating their
manufacturing virtually before committing to construction, equipment and layout, they were able to reduce
the needed space, and hence the factory size, by 50%.
NEWSLETTER
THE POTENTIAL OF VIRTUAL MANUFACTURING IS ABOUT TO BE RELEASED
Q1 2016
1
THE TECHNOLOGY ADDS VALUE IN MANY PHASES
OF THE PRODUCT INDUSTRIALIZATION PROCESS
Previously many companies had seen what they referred to as
“a wall” between these two departments, implying difficulties
to develop products well suited for the manufacturing processes. With Virtual Manufacturing it is possible to integrate the
production organization earlier in the product design processes and come up with suggestions for product design alterations in order to facilitate and optimize the manufacturing
process in an early stage.
By virtual testing it is also possible to reduce or even eliminate the need for testing on physical prototypes. This can
be very beneficial in industries where physical prototypes are
expensive and where small alterations on the product design
have a large impact on the performance of the final product.
Production & Internal logistics
“VIRTUAL MANUFACTURING CAN MAKE IT
POSSIBLE FOR OUR CEO TO MONITOR ALL
OUR PRODUCTION SITES ACROSS THE GLOBE
FROM HIS SOFA.”
Product introduction
When introducing a new product companies often face long
development processes and expensive prototype building in
production and assembly. Several companies in the study therefore apply Virtual Manufacturing to simulate the production
and assembly in parallel with the actual development, reducing
the time to market and validating that the manufacturing and
assembly processes are possible to execute, safe for workers
and with wanted efficiency. With virtual prototypes it is possible to simulate the future production process and construct
an optimal design in 3D before the product exists physically.
"An important benefit of using Virtual Manufacturing is
the possibility for us to increase the integration between
product development and production in our organization".
This thought was emphasized by several of the interviewees.
Continuous improvement is an every-day activity for most
companies. Supporting data is a cornerstone in identifying
improvement possibilities, but also in comparing different
alternatives when deciding what to focus efforts and investments on. Through virtually simulating the manufacturing
operations (e.g. process parameters and tool selection) as
well as the internal logistics (e.g. material flows) companies
can improve operations without the need for costly and time
consuming physical experiments.
With a virtual replica of the production flow it is possible
to test how alterations in for example machine layout, size
of inventories, material flow and workstation balancing can
affect the performance of the operations. Interview results
verified that several organizations demand that all alterations
and investments in the production system must be verified
virtually through simulations before they are executed. This
to ensure that all concepts are validated before a decision
on investment is made.
Another application of Virtual Manufacturing is to create
a virtual live representation of the production system which
displays actual performance in real-time. With such representation it is possible to monitor the performance from a
distance and easily compare results from different production sites across the globe. In addition to enabling total
control of the production processes it also facilitates best
practice sharing between production sites.
Human factors and training
What if operators knew how to perform their tasks before
starting at a new position or in a new production line? With
Virtual Manufacturing this is possible, since employees
are trained through interactive virtual presentations of new
processes in advance, speeding up the production and
reducing risks from day one. "What if we could make it
possible, through Virtual Manufacturing, for our operators
to perform tool change-overs before the new machines even
exists physically?". This vision was brought up by one of the
interviewees.
Virtual simulations can also prevent possible future
injuries implied by poor ergonomics, enabling redesign of
the assembly process before production start. By creating
a virtual replica of the production site in 3D and utilizing
virtual reality techniques it is possible for operators to take
a virtual tour of the production environment before the plant
exists physically. This can also be enhanced further with
Haptic technology, where the sense of touch is recreated by
applying forces, vibrations or motions, allowing the user to
feel the force feedback from the virtual environment.
KEY CHALLENGES
While the potential application areas of Virtual
Manufacturing are many, it is not always easy to identify the business potential or realize the benefits. A major
challenge lies in making the virtual representation as
close to reality as possible in order to gain the expected benefits. Not only must the simulation software
be sophisticated enough. The support of IS/IT system
must also be in place to facilitate exchange of data and
avoid having to do many manual customizations.
It is often a challenge to build and share knowledge within the organization as Virtual Manufacturing
systems require coordination between software application/development experts and persons with deep
insights in the production processes.
NEWSLETTER
A MULTITUDE OF
APPLICATION AREAS
FOR VIRTUAL
MANUFACTURING
Q1 2016
2
DETERMINE THE
USE OF VIRTUAL
MANUFACTURING
WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUR ORGANIZATION?
To benefit most from Virtual Manufacturing it is
important that your organization is operating with a
certain degree of complexity and uncertainty, so that
the core value of virtual simulation becomes apparent
– to serve as a powerful tool for testing scenarios and
validating decision-making. If the degree of complexity
and uncertainty is too large, it is much harder to make
accurate replications of the real environment, reducing
the value of the simulation tool.
In conclusion, it is therefore important to make
a thorough analysis of your organization in order to
determine the benefits of Virtual Manufacturing. In
this newsletter, five different factors are presented and
their respective impact on using Virtual Manufacturing
are analyzed. By comparing the characteristics of your
organization with the analyzed factors it is possible
to identify what degree of gains that can be made by
implementing Virtual Manufacturing.
1 Product variation
Product variation is defined as the number of variants of each
product and the rate of new product development. It is clear
that the potential value of virtual simulations is high with a high
product variation since with increased complexity the need
for simulations also increases. However the simulations also
become more difficult to execute in such conditions.
Low
Medium
High
VM adds value
changed in the production system. For example a functional
workshop with many different material flows is much harder
to simulate virtually compared to traditional serial production.
Ease of simulation
Degree of flexibility
Relevant to
apply
Low
Medium
High
VM adds value
Ease of simulation
2 Product complexity
Product complexity is determined by the number of subcomponents in the product. With a high product complexity,
Virtual Manufacturing is often very beneficial for example by
eliminating the need of testing on physical prototypes.
Product complexity
Low
Medium
High
VM adds value
Ease of simulation
Relevant to
apply
Relevant to
apply
5 Company size/resources
Company size/resources also has a large impact on the
potential benefits of Virtual Manufacturing. Since fixed costs
of implementing a system are usually quite high, there is a
requisite of a certain value or volume in the business for the
benefits of for example investment validation to be profitable.
Company size/resources
Low
Medium
High
VM adds value
Ease of simulation
3 Production system changes
Production system changes relate to how frequently the
production system needs to be altered over time to accommodate for new circumstances. The application of Virtual
Manufacturing is best utilized when the change frequency
is high but yet not too high, as the simulation then becomes
too complex.
Production system changes
Low
Medium
High
VM adds value
Ease of simulation
Relevant to
apply
4 Degree of flexibility
Relevant to
apply
Way forward
There are many factors to consider when determining how to
implement Virtual Manufacturing. To reach the full benefits
a certain investment is often required, both in implementing
the software and supporting IS/IT system but also in creating competence within the organization. Building a proper
business case for the investment can be a challenge since
it is difficult to put a value on many of the benefits of Virtual
Manufacturing such as increased control and proactive validation of decision making. However, if implemented correctly
Virtual Manufacturing can provide many benefits, especially
in the right production environment.
Degree of flexibility is defined as how often short-term alterations of for example product mix or volumes need to be
NEWSLETTER
5 FACTORS
Product variation
Q1 2016
3
Triathlon Consulting Group
Triathlon Consulting Group is a growing management consultancy dedicated to
operations improvement with a prestigious track record. Our clients are well known
large multinational companies, mainly within technology intensive industries.
Triathlon is partner owned, independent and hence a truly reliable consulting
partner in operations improvement.
NEWSLETTER
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By combining innovation and best practice, we develop substantial value to our
clients through long-term relationship and genuine understanding of business
needs in the industries we operate within. Triathlon’s core business is our clients’
‘out of the ordinary’ operational management issues.
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Operations
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Developing strategies
and governance to
reach objectives
Improving operations
by combining innovation and best practice
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and operations
Need a success story of your own?
– Triathlon develops your business
Q1 2016
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