3D printing software developer Authentise has partnered with nebumind, a data visualization and analytics provider, to integrate its digital twin visualizations into the Authentise Manufacturing Execution System (AMES).
The collaboration will aid users in more easily identifying problem zones of parts to ensure inspections are less time-intensive while improving accuracy.
“Additive users need to be able to review data at a single glance,” said Franz Engel, co-CEO at nebumind. “To date, all they are given is long and complex tables of sensor data that are difficult to make head or tail of.
“Thanks to the integration with AMES, we can get this data automatically and fuse it with the shape being produced.”
Nebumind’s digital twin visualizations
Through merging their data capture and visualization capabilities, Authentise and nebumind hope to provide users with improved and actionable insights into part data.
nebumind’s digital twin visualizations combine machine parameters and sensor data with original part geometry, providing a complete visual representation of production data which can be analyzed for product quality and machine process stability. This tool will be integrated into AMES to enable users to identify part issues more easily and quickly.
Meanwhile, real-time alerts will be generated by the nebumind system inside AMES so that users can address deviations or problems during the process, subsequently reducing waste from undesired part outcomes. AMES captures machine data and manages printable geometry, passing this information onto nebumind automatically. The insights generated are then attached to the existing AMES part report to achieve end-to-end traceability.
According to Engel, the integration of nebumind’s digital twin with the AMES system could help customers identify the need for a part to be reworked up to 10 times faster, and see a 90 percent reduction in rejected products.
“That way, the user can see an instant heatmap of potential problem areas, and deep dive into every voxel to understand the underlying data if necessary,” he explained. “Integrating this view with AMES makes sense, since that’s where production is managed, and data is held. We’re excited to be collaborating with Authentise to make the additive process more seamless and reliable for others.”
Nebumind and Authentise’s partnership
Authentise recently collaborated with Addiguru, a developer of real-time process monitoring systems, to advance AMES through integrating computer vision and AI-based in-situ monitoring functionality. This allows for real time actions alongside the digitized workflow management currently offered. According to Authentise CEO Andre Wegner, both this partnership and the collaboration with nebumind, are successful as each party brings their own unique skills.
“We’re excited to be welcoming nebumind to the Authentise platform,” he said. “Together we can accomplish the goal of a seamless, failproof additive process. The collaboration proves once again that trying to do so single-handedly leads to failure and harms customers. For years they have had to put up with sub-optimal data analysis, in several different software tools. Now it’s all in one place, instantly accessible, and cutting edge.
“This partnership proves once again how much we can move this industry forward if industry leaders work together, and not against one another.”
Digital twin technology
Based on the Internet of Things (IoT), digital twins are intangible replicas of physical assets, processes, and devices, produced by a network of connected devices exchanging data. Digital twins are being increasingly utilized across various sectors to aid users in better assessing productive output optimization, part quality, and potential issues in the printing process, among other things.
At the tail end of 2018, software firm NavVis raised $35.5 million to accelerate its digital twin platform which integrates its 3D scanning hardware, NavVis M6, and 3D visualization software, NavVis IndoorViewer. Prior to this, GE Global Research was awarded a four-year contract to develop 1:1 scale twin digital models of metal 3D printed parts for the U.S. Navy.
Digital twins have also been utilized elsewhere in the defense sector. A project commissioned by the U.S. Army is currently underway, involving the disassembly and 3D scanning of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in order to create a digital twin. Through this, the army is hoping to identify parts that can be reverse-engineered and 3D printed, particularly those which are more niche or that might be experiencing supply chain difficulties.
Meanwhile, energy giant Royal Dutch Shell has announced a four-year pilot project at its Pulau Bukom refinery in Singapore to trial a digital twin technology. Elsewhere in Singapore, manufacturing giant Siemens unveiled its Advanced Manufacturing Transformation Center (AMTC) offering digital twin technology to companies looking to simulate potential manufacturing operations before construction begins.
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Featured image shows nebumind traceability report in Authentise. Image via Authentise.
