Buffer Compartment Allocation Using a Digital Twin for Flexible Production
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current smart buffer systems in manufacturing, especially in Industry 4.0 settings, lack efficiency in managing high variability of products and production volumes due to ad hoc management and reliance on manual planning, which is not suitable for flexible production environments.
Innovation Solution
A smart buffer management system (SBMS) that creates a digital twin of the buffer system to virtually fill compartments based on production orders, optimizing compartment allocation and minimizing costly refilling or emptying actions, and automatically controls physical movements of contents using sensors, processors, and communication networks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If ad hoc management and manual planning are used for smart buffer systems, then implementation is simple, but efficiency and adaptability to high variability in products and production volumes deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a digital twin (virtual copy) of the buffer system that mirrors the physical buffer's state and operations. This virtual model allows for simulation, optimization, and planning without affecting the actual production process, enabling efficient management of high variability in products and volumes while maintaining system simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs virtual filling operations in advance within the digital twin environment, determining optimal compartment allocations before physical actions are executed. This preliminary planning reduces actual refilling and tool exchange operations, improving productivity while keeping the implementation approachable
2Device complexity
If manual planning is used for buffer management, then system complexity is low, but adaptability to flexible production environments deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts compartment allocations based on real-time production requirements and buffer state. The digital twin continuously updates to reflect current conditions, enabling the system to adapt to flexible production environments with high variability in products and volumes while maintaining manageable complexity through automated decision-making
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback loops where sensors monitor the physical buffer state, update the digital twin, and trigger optimization cycles. This feedback mechanism enables automatic adaptation to changing production conditions without requiring complex manual reconfiguration, balancing adaptability with system simplicity
3Productivity
If virtual filling and optimization are performed, then compartment allocation efficiency improves, but computational requirements and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs virtual filling and optimization operations periodically rather than continuously, triggering computational processes at specific events such as when production orders change or when buffer thresholds are reached. This periodic approach maximizes compartment allocation efficiency while minimizing unnecessary computational overhead and processing time
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs optimization only to the extent necessary to satisfy current production requirements, using heuristics and approximation algorithms that find sufficiently good solutions quickly rather than exhaustively searching for perfect allocations. This partial optimization approach achieves high enough efficiency without excessive processing time
Data Source
AI summary
A system and a method for managing a buffer system contain compartments for stocking contents needed for a production of products. The method includes: a) a determination from an initial configuration of the buffer system and a stack of orders of a production cycle and a configuration of the buffer system enabling an execution of the production cycle. The determination is completed by carrying out a virtual filling of the compartments with content required by the orders; b) providing instructions controlling content filling/emptying actions to a transport system for filling and/or emptying compartments; c) triggering an execution of the production cycle by the production equipment while recording usage of buffer system content; and d) updating the stack of orders after the end of the execution of the production cycle by removing from the stack of orders all orders which have been fully executed during the execution of the production cycle.