The digital factory and plant design in the 21st century

Thereby the virtual and digital factory design is deemed, which no longer takes place on paper, but rather with help from professional plant design software. With this software the factory simulation occurs in all construction phases and with all processes and sequences linked up.

This modern factory design extends from the initial idea and the initial draft over the whole designing process until the launch of the construction. The simulation under the factory design software is often easy to operate and enables the builders and designer clearly and comprehensively carry out all planning stages to play through, and documentation.

What is a digital factory?

The digital factory: will be officially defined as a generic term for an extensive network from digital models and methods. Amongst others with simulation (see simulation software) and 3D visualization (visualization software). Your purpose is the total planning, transformation, controls, and improvement all associated processes and resources. The basics for the virtual factories are even assessed by VDI- guidelines.

Digital factory methods encompass, for example the production planning and the planning of the logistics systems, the traffic route, the bearing capacity, material flow simulation, and material flow planning and the needed staff. These different factors will be realized through factory design software and situated in relation with one another.

How does a digital factory design run?

First the version of the digital factory will be determined. Is it a re-planning the expansion of an existing plant or to a rehabilitation or reorganization?

All required data and factors must be available:

• The size and quality of the plot
• The exact building plant with all measurements
• The composition of the factory
• The used material
• The production facility
• Transport routes and transport links

The more concrete data available, the better and quicker a 3D factory can be generated. Often the main task of the factory designer is the adaptation of the factory and the production structure on a new expansion plan or an altered productions and market structure as well as the integration of new technology.

Digital factory in the industry and logistics

In the industry, manufacturing, production, and logistic the factory design is not indispensable
Just the constantly changing mechanisms from globalization, new technology, international work processes, rising market dynamic, and the world wide digitalization place the producers under pressure. They must keep up with the market development, but at the same time the raise the production goals, decrease work time, and lower costs.

The major challenge of future-oriented companies in all industries requires constant revision and adaptation of production to the new conditions. The software to factory planning is therefore a practical, flexible and fast tool to simulate bodies and conversions in advance and analyze. Thus, the identified operational goals can be met and reduces possible errors and interferences and filtered out in advance.

Where does digital factory design not come in use?

These digital factory designs in industry and logistics lead different plants and operational buildings as well as the machines together and analyze the related process logistical ways. All structures can be recorded accurately calculate and represent well understood by appealing 2D and 3D simulations in detail. Collisions of processes, idlers and false calculations of all kinds are also eliminated, thereby reducing errors in the system to a minimum.

Which tasks will be managed with help from the digital factory design?

Furthermore, the factory simulation for creating the database or the data core, as an integration platform, tool list and for the organization and planning workflow is used.

1. The digital factory reduces redundant data
2. You standardize many processes, resources as well as operation funds
3. In addition you visualize the tasks, competence and responsibility in the same process chain

Thereby becoming transparent calculation from time, costs, and resources, and possibilities for automation or savings will be early reported.

Which disciplines includes a software for the digital factory design?

The digital factory design offers the operator numerous possibilities, easy and clear a complete factory to develop. You get access to library with architectural and design elements, and so can realistically plan complex building. 2D and 3D data can be generated synchronously and all desired information and numbers can be clearly visualized.

All relevant design data only needs to be gathered once and stays managed in an internal data bank. For this purpose, all further external data can be integrated, for instance work force and data for supplier, outfitter, transport, and service provider. If the data is kept up to date, a relevant time and cost estimation can be evaluated.

How can a business profit through digital factory design?

1. With the digital factory design the designer and builder saves not only clearly on resources, but also receive other advantages. Through the integrating animation and 3D simulation from constructed and production processes all planning phases can be optically outstandingly diagrammed.
2. The virtual factory can also generate possible problems through space limitations or the exposer of a processing unit realistically played and possible solution scenarios. Even before the installation of equipment, machinery and transport routes, these analyze, bringing a number of risks and hazards are reduced to a minimum.
3. Also the material flow in the production can be timely optimized through the digital factory, resource to the production from the beginning and introduce cost recovery. All processes can be streamlined and the entire production process takes on a much more flexible and energy-saving.

What are disadvantages of poor factory design with them?

The disadvantages of digital factory planning are low - but also requires a virtual factory as many basic facts and ideas in order to create a thoroughly complete, realistic and faithful to reality model. If these are not available, even the most well-designed factory model is only a superficial design that delivers at worst totally incorrect calculations.

What are the limits in digital factory design?

The digital factory planning knows its limits. Ultimately simulation in logistics and construction is only as good as the data and information present. Each virtual factory should therefore always be created despite all the technical possibilities with the necessary foresight - and with any emergency scenarios to reduce residual risks as much as possible. In this case, the human experience plays a significant role.

How is digital factory design implemented through software?

The digital factory offers many ways your system visually appealing (using animation software) to implement detailed and realistically. Just the factory design for small to medium-sized factories can use it easily and will be prospectively designed. Through the integrated 3D animation, you can create your ideas transparent and understandable and present them to others.

Tarakos software for factory planning provides over 500 ready stationary elements of professional software libraries to implement versatile your concept. You can also visually edit the logistics, internal logistics and work processes in the plant. The vivid 3D virtual reality scenes can also be easily used for presentation videos and other multimedia presentations.