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<p>The concept of digital twins (DTs) is prominent in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0. Initially, DTs provided a virtual representation of real-world products. Subsequently, the scope of DTs broadened to include entire production systems and processes. However, the integration between different types of DTs within the manufacturing environment remains underexplored, hindering the full realisation of the DT concept and its benefits. This paper presents a proof-of-concept implementation and evaluation of an architecture for a system of DTs that integrates product and production information in a major automotive manufacturer. The architecture includes <i>product DTs</i> and <i>process DTs</i>. Additionally, the product DTs include <i>process models</i> that describe the expected relationships between product and process DTs. The architecture employs the <i>type digital twin aggregate</i> (TDTA) concept to provide the scalability required in a large automotive manufacturing context. The evaluation shows that the high level of modularity is especially beneficial for the modifiability of the architecture. The use of the TDTA addresses some scalability requirements, but additional measures could be employed within a large automotive enterprise where a large number of product DTs and process DTs are expected. Additionally, the evaluation demonstrates that the integration between product DTs and process DTs supports use cases where both product and production data are required, such as in product recalls. However, this integration creates tight coupling and dependencies between the DTs, adding complexity and requiring careful management.</p>

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An architecture for the integration of product and production digital twins: an automotive case study

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月24日

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  • R. Visser,
  • A. H. Basson,
  • K. Kruger

摘要

The concept of digital twins (DTs) is prominent in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0. Initially, DTs provided a virtual representation of real-world products. Subsequently, the scope of DTs broadened to include entire production systems and processes. However, the integration between different types of DTs within the manufacturing environment remains underexplored, hindering the full realisation of the DT concept and its benefits. This paper presents a proof-of-concept implementation and evaluation of an architecture for a system of DTs that integrates product and production information in a major automotive manufacturer. The architecture includes product DTs and process DTs. Additionally, the product DTs include process models that describe the expected relationships between product and process DTs. The architecture employs the type digital twin aggregate (TDTA) concept to provide the scalability required in a large automotive manufacturing context. The evaluation shows that the high level of modularity is especially beneficial for the modifiability of the architecture. The use of the TDTA addresses some scalability requirements, but additional measures could be employed within a large automotive enterprise where a large number of product DTs and process DTs are expected. Additionally, the evaluation demonstrates that the integration between product DTs and process DTs supports use cases where both product and production data are required, such as in product recalls. However, this integration creates tight coupling and dependencies between the DTs, adding complexity and requiring careful management.