Digital Twins for Industrial Robotics: A Comparative Study

Abstract

The paper aims to compare NX Mechatronic Concept Designer (MCD) and Tecnomatix Process Simulate (TPS) and their suitability for simulating mechatronic machines in digital twinning. A Digital Twin (DT) is a virtual model that serves as a real-time digital counterpart of a physical object or process. Compared to a conventional simulation, it differs in its ability to model the behavior of the actual counterpart from many points of view and with much greater complexity. Digital Twins have a crucial role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution but are also used in different areas like meteorology, traffic simulation in smart cities, and civil engineering. Digital Twins in industrial engineering help maintain the optimal pace of assembly lines, flexibly adapt production, increase manufacturing process efficiency, and generate cost-effective products. Increasing usage of IoT solutions drives the Digital Twin market, which is growing exponentially. The paper discusses the two software packages’ possibilities, advantages, and disadvantages and proposes the methodology and philosophy of making DT. The contribution of this work is to compare the possibilities of making mechatronic devices for educational and research purposes from scratch through to their final implementation.