Twin tools for intelligent manufacturing: a case study

The article deals with a case of an industrial plant for which a balanced mix of flexibility and production slenderness is sought together with high quality, transparency and production effectiveness. The study is based on virtual plant assessments (by means of virtual engineering) and considers industrial artefacts (automotive components) aiming at economics of scale figures on short horizons, but undergoing fast updating requests of high flexibility of new hybrid and electric vehicles; the sought solution profits of shop-floor resources modularity and robotic cells use; example simulation issues are given, and the advantages, offered by the use of digital twins, are analyzed.