Our Digital Twin team, led by Poul Kristensen and Alberto Martinez, helped VARO Machinery to overcome a critical moment in their production phase and do it most efficiently. The joint work of both companies allowed, among other things, to save two months of work and a faster delivery to the end customer. This article describes, from our partner’s side, how they faced a complicated project for an important client, the difficulties they encountered and how they completed it thanks to ProjectBinder’s Digital Twin Team.
How to produce a full machine without components.
What do you do when you have the task of producing a machine for a Fortune 500 company but lack the physical components? Not long ago, we faced this problem. During COVID-19, the world experienced distortions in the supply chains, leading to decreased availability of crucial components. But instead of waiting for the supply chains to recover, we decided to design and produce the machine in a virtual environment. How, may you ask?
With the help of ProjectBinder, we designed a 3D virtual environment to emulate the real-world machine we had in mind. This “Digital Twin” emulated all the components and processes of the machine, creating a dynamic 3D virtual environment – all in digital space! Why did we do that? Varo’s Automation Engineer, Nicolai Boesen, says, “It allowed us to design the machine, test and sharpen the code, and ensure that most of the processes functioned optimally – without using physical components.”
The advantages of machine design with Digital Twin
Besides that, designing the machine with its “Digital Twin” had several advantages:
- First, the machine had nine interacting security zones that needed to be synchronized. Designing, controlling, and adjusting these in the real world would be resource- and time-demanding.
- Second, within the 3D emulation, we had a complete overview of the interactions–while being able to speed up the processes manifold, getting faster error messages in the testing process than in the real world. And, naturally, the cleaning process couldn’t be more straightforward – just a simple click on the “clean up”-button.
Of course, the “Digital Twin” is an idealized version of the machine – the components work as planned, with no unforeseen environmental consequences or human mistakes. Unfortunately, the real world is not like that. At one point, therefore, we had to make the transition from the virtual to the real world to adjust the final code – building on top of the “Digital Twin”. So, while the first ~90 % of the code could be fixed in the digital realm, the remaining 10 % would be done following the physical machine.
Having the “Digital Twin” as a foundation for the project has been an enormous advantage. According to Nicolai Boesen, VARO saved two months of work because of this solution – leading to faster delivery for our customers. This is not the only possible benefit for our customers. As the 3D emulation is ready before the physical machine, the future operators can get to know the machine and its functioning beforehand.
Therefore, we will consider using the solution again if the right circumstances arise in an upcoming project. Thanks to ProjectBinder, especially Poul Kristensen and Alberto Martinez, for supporting the innovative “Digital Twin”-solution.
Conclusion
Having the “Digital Twin” as a foundation for the project has been an enormous advantage. According to Nicolai Boesen, VARO saved two months of work because of this solution – leading to faster delivery for our customers. This is not the only possible benefit for our customers. As the 3D emulation is ready before the physical machine, the future operators can get to know the machine and its functioning beforehand.
Therefore, we will consider using the solution again at Varo Machinery if the right circumstances arise in an upcoming project. Thanks to ProjectBinder.
VARO develops automation equipment, which optimizes your production and ensures a consistently high level of quality. They have made production equipment since 1935, and we know how to make the best solutions.
COMPETENCIES At VARO, they have a wide variety of in-house competencies. This means they can efficiently and professionally handle your project from analysis and idea to construction, assembly and installation. In other words, they have the right ideas and people to bring them to life.
SOLUTIONS VARO makes both customized and standard equipment. Their customized equipment is made for those unique production processes, where standard equipment doesn’t cut it. It may be a simple solution or a complex production process. Their standard equipment is quality solutions based on well-tested technologies and processes.
INDUSTRIES Over the years, they have supplied equipment to many different industries. In recent years, many of our activities have been within the life science and food industries, raising the bar for product development.
However, at VARO, we first and foremost focus on functionalities, techniques and solutions – and less on specific industries. So please do not hesitate to contact them for further dialogue.