Digital twin framework for reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMSs): design and simulation

Faced with the global crisis of COVID-19 and the strong increase in customer demands, competition is becoming more intense between companies, on the one hand, and supply chains on the other. This competition has led to the development of new strategies to manage demand and increase market share. Among these strategies are the growing interest in sustainable manufacturing and the need for customizable products that create an increasingly complex manufacturing environment. Sustainable manufacturing and the need for customizable products create an environment of increased competition and constant change. Indeed, companies are trying to establish more flexible and agile manufacturing systems through several systems of reconfiguration. Reconfiguration contributes to an extension of the manufacturing system’s life cycle by modifying its physical, organizational and IT characteristics according to the changing market conditions. Due to the rapid development of new information technology (such as IoT, Big Data analytics, cyber-physical systems, cloud computing and artificial intelligence), digital twins have become intensively used in smart manufacturing. This paper proposes a digital twin design and simulation model for reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMSs).