Industrial Simulation in High-Tech

The following are just a few benefits of industrial simulation in the manufacturing sector:

Reduction of investment risk

Industry simulation programs assist manufacturers in better understanding the requirements of their operations. This knowledge would not only assist the producers in time savings, but also in the efficient use of resources.

Waste Reduction

Manufacturers can better comprehend the production system thanks to simulation solutions. Because of this, the manufacturers gain control over how the resources are used in the production plant. This in turn aids in increasing overall production efficiency as well as cutting down on waste generation.

Increased Effectiveness

The manufacturers may go into the nitty-gritty details of the production process, discover the problems involved, and then build solutions for those problems using the simulation solutions.

Consume less energy and conserve resources

The construction of an effective system, in which every component is properly tuned to the others, is celebrated in industrial simulation. Each element of the system makes a contribution to its efficient operation. When overdesign is avoided and valuable materials may be conserved, energy consumption is decreased. When simulation and modeling are used together, it is feasible to compare different layout options quickly, which aids manufacturers in determining the best configuration.

Identifying Hazards, and Saving Lives in the Process

The makers can better grasp how the machinery at their facility operates under challenging circumstances with the use of simulation technologies. This would enable them to take preventative measures to ensure both the machinery and human lives are safe. Manufacturers can test for the worst case scenario via virtual system simulation without endangering the health and safety of people.

The development and delivery times are under a lot of strain due to shorter product life cycles and smaller batch sizes. The modifications in requirements are demonstrated by one instance from the automotive sector. Permanently linked transfer lines allowed manufacturers to quickly create huge quantities of a single engine type up to the 1990s.

The optimal production idea surrounds this concept. However, a greater degree of flexibility was required due to the increasing number of models and shorter product life cycles. Today, a single line produces a wide variety of engine models. Within a production cell, highly adaptable machining centers collaborate on every given item.

However, this evolutionary rise in machine technology’s and manufacturing organizations’ flexibility has mostly peaked. Now that cutting-edge software ideas have emerged, it is possible to make single things fast and profitably.

Tools for simulation enter the scene from the very beginning of a product’s life cycle. They dramatically reduce development timeframes and enable product attributes to be modified even during the 3D design stage. Since concrete machine tasks and drive operations are converted into calculable mathematical contexts, system simulation can also be used to study a machine’s dynamic behavior in all of its aspects.

Long testing times on test beds are considerably reduced as a result, and potential flaws are found early and may be fixed affordably. If one takes into account that the costs to remove flaws increase by a factor of ten from the initial product idea to market readiness, this magnitude becomes quite crucial.

However, time and money can be saved in other ways besides shortening test phases. Without needing to create time-consuming and expensive prototypes, simulations assist validate the general viability of the idea at the very beginning of development work.

When designing components, using these tools avoids over-dimensioning and leads to the solution most efficient in terms of materials and energy use. The program allows for fine-tuning without disrupting operations during commissioning by simulating the use of the finished machine or component on site.

Because of this, simulation is a useful tool for lowering costs, ensuring quality, and accelerating time to market. Examples have demonstrated that simulation tools can reduce development timelines by 80%, from three years to as little as six months.

Simulation offers more than just a solution; it demonstrates how the solution was arrived at, allowing you to follow causes and effects, and lets you come up with rationales for choices. An element of a business rules engine is simulation.

A tool for managing change is simulation. Business process management experts understand the crucial need of carefully guiding organizations and individuals from outdated to modern modes of operation, and simulation is one method for quickening change. This skill is largely derived from simulation’s capacity to make the causes of change more understandable.

Both offline design and online operational management issues can be addressed through simulation. In order to foresee how a change would affect their decisions, engineers derive rules using the mental models that experts provide about how their systems operate and how to make decisions. The formalization and simulation of these models strengthens the business rule automation. Simulation gives designers of new business rules a tool to confirm that their proposed procedures will function as intended.

Fundamental Choices and Actions for Industry Simulation

For a simulation research to be successful, there are specific measures that must be taken. The method used to carry out the simulation is constant regardless of the problem type and the study’s goal. The basic steps in the simulation process are briefly described in the section below.

Issue Specification

Setting the study’s objectives and identifying the problems to be tackled is the first phase. Through unbiased observations of the process under study, the issue is better clarified. It is important to carefully consider if simulation is the best technique for the issue being researched.

Project Management

The project’s tasks are divided up into work packages, each of which has a designated responsible party. A progress bar with milestones is provided. This timetable is required to establish whether there will be enough time and resources for completion.

Framework Definition

In this step, the system components that will be modeled and the performance metrics that will be examined are determined. Since the system is frequently highly complicated, defining it calls for an expert simulator who can determine the right level of flexibility and detail.

Formulation of a Model

Creating the ideal model requires knowing how the system performs in practice and figuring out what the model’s fundamental needs should be. Making a flowchart of the system’s operation makes it easier to grasp the variables that are involved, along with their interactions.

Data Gathering and Analysis for Input

The kind of data to collect is decided upon once the model has been developed. Both new data and/or current data are obtained. To theoretical distributions, data is fitted. For instance, a normal distribution curve might be followed by the arrival rate of a particular part at the production facility.

Model Translation

A programming language translation is performed on the model. Options include simulation programs like Arena or general-purpose languages like Fortran.

Validation & Verification

Verification is the process of making sure the model behaves as intended, typically through animation or debugging. In other words, a model can be validated but still not be valid. Verification is important but insufficient for validation.

Validation makes assurance that the model accurately represents reality and that there are no appreciable differences between it and the real system. Statistical analysis can be used to validate results. It is also possible to acquire face validity by having a professional review and validate the model.

Examination & Experimentation

Creating alternative models, running simulations, and statistically contrasting the performance of the alternative systems with the real systems are all steps in the experimentation process.

Implementation and Documentation

The written report and/or presentation make up the documentation. Discussion is had regarding the study’s findings and implications. The ideal course of action is determined, suggested, and supported.

Considerations for Simulation

The chance of a simulation study’s success is established by completing the necessary stages. Understanding that not every problem should be tackled through simulation is just as crucial as understanding the fundamental procedures in a simulation study.

For very large and sophisticated projects in the past, simulation required the specialized training of programmers and analysts. Due to the abundance of software now available, people without the necessary expertise or experience occasionally utilize simulation in an undesirable way. When simulation is used improperly, the study won’t yield conclusive findings.

If the simulation study’s intended goals are not met, the simulation approach itself may come under fire.  However, the improper use of simulation was what ultimately led to the failure.

Before deciding to perform the study, four factors should be assessed in order to determine whether simulation is the best method for resolving a certain problem:

• Type of Issue
• Existence of Resources
• Cost Implications
• Data Availability

Type of Problem: Simulation is not necessary if the issue can be resolved with logic or analysis.

Furthermore, compared to simulating, employing algorithms and mathematical equations may be quicker and less expensive. Additionally, if the issue can be resolved by running direct experiments on the system under evaluation, doing so may be preferable to modeling. To give an example, the UI Transportation Department recently carried out field research on increasing the campus shuttle service.

The experiment was conducted over the weekend by the department using its own staff and vehicles. In comparison, one student needed several weeks to finish creating the simulation model for the shuttle system. However, the degree to which the actual system will be perturbed must be taken into account while conducting guiding experiments. However, a different strategy is required if there will be a significant disturbance to the actual system.