Author: cmgasillos

Course 6: Digital Factory (Syllabus)

Last update: November 9, 2020

Course Objective:  As information and communication technologies connect the world into one, today’s companies are challenged by increasingly aggressive competition to satisfy dynamic customer demands. Digital transformation will be indispensable, and having an ability to mimic a physical world into a virtual world will become necessary to companies for assessing scenarios before they even occur, resulting in effective operations, better failure prevention, and attractive offerings. This course aims to build student competence in digital transformation, digital factory modeling, and digital factory analysis. The students will also practice the knowledge gained in a case study factory.

Learning Outcomes:    

The students on the completion of this course would be able to

CLO1. Understand the strategic differences between traditional factory and digital factory (Understand, Module I)

CLO2. Understand the capacities and limitations of digital technologies available nowadays (Understand, Module I)

CLO3. Formulate a data model representing data streamlining in a production line of an existing traditional factory using a data flow diagram (Develop, Module II)

CLO4. Simulate the dynamic behavior of a production line and identify locations which must be closely monitored to keep productivity in control, as well as to prevent work defects and machine breakdowns (Analysis, Module II)

CLO5. Propose a digital factory platform of a case study factory in a virtual environment upon what have been learned (Design, Module III)

Prerequisite:  None

 Course Outline:

Module 1:  Introduction to digital factory: Road to digital transformation

1. Lean product lifecycle management towards digital factory
2. Technologies for digital transformation
3. Integration of technologies for digital factory

Module 2:  Digital Factory Modeling: How to formulate a virtual world

1. Cyber-physical systems and data security
2. Data flow model concept and construction
3. Simulation of a production line

Module 3:  Digital factory analysis: From analysis to factory solutions

1. Factory digitalization
2. Factory critical points identification and suggestions for improvement
3. Future trends of digital factory

Laboratory Sessions:  Laboratory on establishment of a digital twin

Learning Resources:

Textbook:  No designated textbook, but class notes and handouts will be provided

Reference books:

1. Barrenechea, Mark J. Jenkins, Tom Digital Manufacturing, First Published, Published in Canada 2018.
2. Milan Gregor and Stefan Medvecky (2010). Digital Factory – Theory and Practice, Engineering the Future, Laszlo Dudas (Ed.), InTech, Available from: http://www.intechopen.com/books/engineering-the-future/digital-factory-theory-and-practice
3. Stephan Richter Dr. Steffen Wischmann, Additive manufacturing methods – state of development, market prospects for industrial use and ICT-specific challenges in research and development, Available from: www.autonomik40.de
4. Zude Zhou, Shane (Shengquan) Xie, and Dejun Chen, Fundamentals of Digital Manufacturing Science, Springer London Dordrecht Heidelberg New York, 2012.
5. Zongwei Luo, Robotics, Automation, and Control in Industrial and Service Settings, Published in the United States of America by Engineering Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global), Available from: http://www.igi-global.com
6. 2016 Global Industry 4.0 Survey, Industry 4.0: Building the digital enterprise, Available from: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/industries/industry–4.0.html

Teaching and Learning Method:

1. Every week students will participate in in-class activities along with practical training in a PLM software laboratory.
2. Visiting case study factories will be scheduled every month for students to observe digital technologies being implemented in reality and for data collection.
3. Student presentation will be regularly scheduled for students to practice presentation skills.
4. Students design a virtual digital factory out of a real traditional one as a class final project.

Time Distribution and Study Load:

In-class activities: 30 hours

Practical training: 45 hours (including visiting a factory at a minimum of 12 hours)

Course Developer:

Athakorn Kengpol, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Thailand

Supapan Chaiprapat, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand

Chukree Daesa, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand