Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Department

Mechanical Engineering

First Advisor

Ramy Harik

Abstract

With the establishment of Digital Twins as an enabling technology for Industry 4.0, it is time to transition from the previous foundations to works that implement and highlight the capabilities Digital Twins present. The Industry 4.0 paradigm has recentered the focus on customizability, leading to reemerging goals of flexibility within manufacturing. Empowered through new cyber-physical systems, new enabling technologies are driving the revolution. To identify how Digital Twins as an enabling technology contribute to flexibility within manufacturing, a comprehensive investigation is conducted along with a detailed case study. A systematic literature review is conducted to analyze quality Digital Twin implementations through the lens of manufacturing flexibility research. Key Digital Twin capabilities of environmental evaluation, anomaly detection, and process adaptation are identified to improve manufacturing flexibility. Following the review, the Future Factories lab and its Digital Twin are presented. Here the desired Digital Twin capabilities, highlighted in the review, are implemented. By introducing improved object tracking capabilities with a Motion Capture system, augmenting the ability to interface with the physical cell, and developing autonomous robotic path correction capabilities, the Future Factories Digital Twin serves as a demonstrator to enhancing manufacturing flexibility.

Rights

© 2025, Drew Brandon Sander

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