Covering Disruptive Technology Powering Business in The Digital Age

Written by Rogelio Legaspi, Journalist, AOPG

IPC, a US standard-giving body for the electronics industry, launched what they call the first international standard for digital twin products, manufacturing and lifecycle frameworks.

Formally known as IPC-2551 International Standard for Digital Twins, IPC said that any manufacturer, design organisation or solution provider can initiate application interoperability to create smart value chains using the standard.

Basically, the digital twin technology refers to a digital replica, virtual copy or model of a real physical asset, such as a product, device, process, vehicle or equipment using various sensors and instruments to collect data and parameters to be used in the digital copy.

The term ‘digital twin’ has been in use since the 1970s, with NASA first using it in the Apollo 13 mission that had allowed them to fix a space vehicle on the ground using a combination of physical and mathematical models. Today, the technology is used in the simulation of models such as the supply chain.

This works by having a virtual supply chain replica that consists of hundreds of assets, warehouses and logistics, allowing organisations to monitor their supply chain in real-time, rather than the traditional study of models based on a specific period of time.

With the standard, IPC hopes to provide a comprehensive self-assessment mechanism for companies to determine their current digital twin readiness level and roadmap the steps they will need to take to achieve a full digital twin approach. This comprehensive approach provides real value to companies that are in the planning stages for applying a digital twin framework to their operations.

In addition, organisations can use the IPC digital twin standard to represent every process and possible actions taken on a product within the manufacturing and lifecycle environment, for engineering, modelling, planning, quality and reliability analysis, simulations and much more, allowing critical decisions for a product, process and material design to be optimised.

“This will ensure that the physical expectations will be met without the need for a physical prototype. IPC-2551 will help with optimisation of processes reducing losses associated with manufacturing and logistics, increasing productivity, efficiency and cost performance”, stated Matt Kelly, IPC chief technologist in a press release.

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