NOVEMBER 20238MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY INSIGHTSBusiness requirements seem to be increasing all the time. Things must be digital, more data must be available, compliance is an increasingly multidimensional field and sustainability sets new requirements. But is it so? The matter can also be viewed from the opposite angle that new ways of acting can change operations in a fundamental way, thus achieving an increase in both productivity and efficiency.Let me take an example from the frequency converter business: Frequency converters are used to control the speed and torque of electric motors. They also have numerous applications in electrification. With frequency converters, considerable cost savings, productivity improvement, and reduction of C02 emissions are achieved when comparing to motors connected directly to the electrical grid. Nevertheless, only about 20 percent of electric motors are equipped with frequency converters. These issues are also relevant to many other industrial control devices, components and systems ­ how widely are the best practices applied? And what role do digitalization and sustainability play in this and how do they relate to each other in the case of industrial control device asset optimization?ASSET OPTIMIZATION ­ PERFORMANCE BY SIMULATION AND MODELINGPractically all new products are currently engineered using simulation and modeling tools. The digital twin is becoming de facto. However, the benefits of these models have been limited to the manufacturers' own activities, but this is now changing. There are models on the markets that enable interoperability between different models and modeling environments.Use cases vary and so do the benefits and approaches. In system projects, it is important to verify the configuration, in which case, the models must support the level of the system's operation and the effective parameterization. This enables virtual factory acceptance tests and commissioning simulation. The benefits are obvious in terms of time savings, cost of test arrangements, and the verification of the actual operation of the system before the physical implementation. Commissioning can take up to 25 percent of the project time, and most delays occur during this project phase.The requirements of an OEM machine builder doing product development can be very demanding. In addition HOW DIGITIZATION DRIVES BETTER MANUFACTURING: STREAMLINING ASSET OPTIMIZATION AND SUSTAINABILITYBy Janne Kuivalainen, CTO & Head of Technology, Danfoss DrivesJanne KuivalainenIN MY OPINION
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