Thought Leadership

Manufacturing is getting smarter with a digital twin

By Blake Snodgrass
Bill Davis
Bill Davis, Director of Industrial Machinery and Heavy Equipment Solutions at Siemens Digital Industries Software

In a recently published article in Industrial Machinery Digest, Bill Davis, Solution Director of Industrial Machinery and Heavy Equipment Industry for Siemens Digital Industries Software, discusses how additive manufacturing (AM) provides the following benefits: faster, more flexible manufacturing methods, fewer design constraints and the product design freedom to integrate welding, sheet metal and casting. 

>Read the article.


Therefore, engineers can design with the minimum materials necessary, using additive manufacturing to combine separate parts as a single additive component, eliminating the cost of machining each part.

However, there are challenges in manufacturing and delivering high-quality AM parts at an industrial scale. It is essential to have a tightly integrated, closed-loop design to simulate-manufacturing flow for achieving quality additive products. 

Integrating a digital twin

It is essential to have a comprehensive digital twin, including the initial design of simulation, production, and testing, to positively return additive manufacturing. 

The digital twin is crucial for constructing and executing additive parts while managing delivery, manufacturing, operations and quality of manufacturing operations management. These components deliver awareness for harmonizing activities in providing accurate parts. 

Learn more in Bill’s IMD article.

The Xcelerator portfolio in Siemens Digital Industries Software suite of products provides a full suite of solutions, empowering machine builders and suppliers with essential tools to compete successfully. Industrial machinery companies can transition seamlessly to create tomorrow’s complex, efficient machines.

Bill Davis is the Solution Director of Industrial Machinery and Heavy Equipment Industry for Siemens Digital Industries Software. His experience and insights have been acquired from a career spanning 30 years in engineering and operations management with machinery and heavy equipment companies.  Bill holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from Marquette University, with a concentration in Operations Management and Strategic Marketing, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Milwaukee School of Engineering.

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This article first appeared on the Siemens Digital Industries Software blog at https://blogs.sw.siemens.com/thought-leadership/2021/02/03/published-article-manufacturing-is-getting-smarter-with-a-digital-twin/