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Fagor has combined Digital Twin technologies with Data Analytics in a platform integrated in the development and production process of presses and hydraulic systems.
This system allows testing and simulation and control development without the need for the press. This reduces delivery times, costs and potential problems in machine delivery. The simulation possibilities offered by this technology offer great potential in increasing excellence, as it is an interdisciplinary tool that improves the interaction between engineering processes.
The software recreates the characteristics of the equipment to create a hydraulic model, and after making the simulations, the control system is developed from scratch based on this model. The system is connected to a real control with that model, which allows the programming to be developed before the press is manufactured. This significantly speeds up machine commissioning processes.
One of the advantages offered by a Digital Twin is the ability to perform correct sizing of various elements in the design phase, such as valves, thanks to its ability to perform tests with real parameters.
The Digital Twin is also a powerful tool for innovation, as it allows control tests to be carried out for new developments. The results are converted into design improvements based on the information obtained.
For example, it has been used in the new pressure pump control for hydraulic presses. This system manages the pressure increase required by the dynamism of the proportional valves, so that only the necessary pressure is provided, with no energy wasted. This model developed at the Digital Twin has been successfully tested on a real press, with energy savings of 35% in servo valve control.
Personnel training is another area where the Digital Twin can be used, as it enables the customer’s team to be trained in machine control without the need for the physical equipment. Likewise, it is a useful tool to teach the customer how his press will be and the response it will give.
Fagor Arrasate has also developed a system in which this Digital Twin can be used in a Virtual Reality viewer, being able to see the press and its elements in movement and in 3D, and with the real parameters. It has all the elements for the operation of the press, such as the button panel, so that it can be used to teach the operation of the different equipment.
It is one of the most interesting models because of the options it offers, among which stand out:
Its objective is to learn a correct operation of the machine, and to give warnings to the operator or maintenance team to predict any abnormal behavior. For example, an algorithm has been developed that gives information on the status of the automation transmission.
The digital twins also monitor specific press components, such as the main motors or hydraulic pumps, in order to establish operating parameters and analyze their evolution. Similarly, an algorithm is being developed to predict the wear of the gears in the presses and to give a prediction of the temperature of the bushings or bearings as a function of the working parameters.