Transforming Computer Integrated Manufacturing Facility to Use as a Digital Twin Enabled Learning Factory

Digital Twin is currently getting wider momentum in many engineering disciplines. Manufacturing industry is one of the main sectors which could gain the benefit of DT through taking decisions real time or in advance before physical systems will be tested which will save many resources and production time thereby to promote sustainable manufacturing. Therefore, empowering future manufacturing and industrial engineering professionals with DT enabled manufacturing facilities is greatly beneficial. This paper presents a transformation of CIM facility as a learning factory to educate and to use as a research facility of DT enabled manufacturing system. More than 25 years old Mitsubishi CIM facility (RHM2, PNC300 and RVM2) is retrofitted incorporating the different sensory platforms to monitor real time activities of the Industrial robot arm, product quality inspection facility, mini-CNC center operations and conveyer system integrated through Siemens (S7–1200) PLC and software installations. The Digital platform is developed by Unity and DT is enabled by RS232 and TCP/IP communication protocols and RHM2, Mini-CNC and conveyor belt hardware software integration. By establishing DT facility through retrofitting the aged CIM system, enables DT enabled Learning Factory concept to be used for education and research with very lower investment and without moving into acquire new hardware’s (robot arms, conveyers, CNC teaching Units) which itself enhance the sustainability in Manufacturing engineering education.