- The new Digital Factory solution will allow manufacturers to
boost production and increase efficiency using accurate and
up-to-date digital replicas of their factories
- The solution can help global manufactures save millions each
year by helping them reduce costs and avoid mistakes planning and
building factories
- By connecting asset digital twins to an accurate and up-to-date
Digital Factory, companies can plan and operate more productive,
flexible and sustainable future factories
FARNBOROUGH, England, July 24,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Hexagon's Manufacturing
Intelligence division has launched its new digitalisation solution,
Digital Factory, designed to help manufacturers build highly
accurate digital replicas of their factories. It enables
manufacturers to optimise their floor plans and quickly pivot
production lines today, and prepare for smarter and more
sustainable future factories with open interfaces that enable
digital twins of shopfloor assets. Such solutions could save a
global manufacturing company £35 million per year* by avoiding
costly mistakes and offering a 50% reduction in travel costs and
the on-site training staff require.
Hexagon is uniquely positioned to address this issue through its
expertise in delivering best-in-class accuracy reality capture and
surveying equipment, software to visualise, explore and simulate
scenarios in 3D, and high-productivity cloud-native collaboration
workflows. Digitalisation technologies are a proven technology and
have been used for over two decades in civil infrastructure,
architecture and public safety, but their potential has yet to be
fully realised in the manufacturing space where significant
disruption now requires manufacturers – in particular brownfield
site owners – to rethink their manufacturing equipment and use of
space.
According to research conducted by Forrester and commissioned by
Hexagon, 32% of manufacturers believe that outdated or ineffective
manual processes and workflows are barriers to productivity and
collaboration. Digital Factory is a future-ready alternative to
traditional factory planning that enables manufacturers to not only
ramp up productivity, but also increase efficiency in remodelling,
preventing costly mistakes. It also empowers more efficient
collaboration between manufacturing and operations teams from
anywhere in the world. The core of this solution is improved access
to up-to-date data in immersive virtual environments that reflect
reality, addressing a major barrier that smart factory initiatives
face today.
Digital Factory leverages a comprehensive portfolio of hardware
and software solutions that includes Hexagon's award-winning range
of reality capture technology – such as the Leica BLK2GO handheld
imaging laser scanner, the Leica BLK ARC autonomous scanning module
for robotic and mobile carriers and terrestrial laser scanners like
the Leica RTC360 – that allow manufacturers to capture and create
dimensionally-accurate point clouds of the factory floor using the
Leica Cyclone software portfolio and Hexagon's Reality Cloud
Studio, powered by the HxDR, manufacturers can easily collaborate
and quickly process data from Hexagon or a customer's preferred
scanning hardware to recreate up-to-date 3D spaces with speed and
flexibility.
Hexagon offers complete workflows to ensure manufacturers
achieve the maximum value, from scanning the factory and processing
the data into actionable 3D models for various applications, to
managing the data in the cloud, making it easier for team members
and external stakeholders to provide feedback and make informed
decisions. By using Digital Factory, manufacturers will be able
to:
- Conduct virtual tours for remote factory
monitoring – Lead a digital tour of a factory with remote
access, eliminating the need for managers and contractors to travel
onsite.
- Remote team collaboration - Facilitate remote
collaboration among key teams and stakeholders at any time, using
cloud-based tools with analysis and modelling capabilities with
on-demand data. Factory planners and production managers can make
decisions remotely and provide feedback with confidence based on
reliable and up-to-date data.
- Plan and remodel factory layouts with accuracy and
detail - Capture precise measurements of a factory,
creating an exact and reliable digital model that can be accessed
anytime from anywhere. Factory owners can regularly monitor the
progress of production lines under construction in meticulous
detail, avoiding the costs associated with unexpected
errors.
- Easily upgrade and install equipment – Introduce
and upgrade machinery such as machining centres, 3D printers,
robotics and metrology systems by evaluating their addition or
replacement in a risk-free digital model. This helps prevent
expensive mistakes such as ordering incorrect parts, not having
sufficient footprint or access to install a machine.
- Create operational test-beds and innovate faster –
By testing out new machines, factory floor layouts and
workflows in the virtual 3D environment, companies can quickly
identify feasibility and emissions considerations, enabling them to
better understand the potential benefits of new technology and make
future-ready smart factories a reality.
Nicholas Lachaud Bandres, VP
Industry Solutions at Hexagon commented: "Hexagon has
developed a deep understanding of manufacturers'
needs. Digital Factory allows to bring the physical world
into an accurate virtual sandbox of their factories on-demand.
Collaborating with their team and suppliers, they can consider
'what-if' scenarios to shape more effective plant designs and
layouts and oversee implementation with irrefutable and accessible
3D plans. We're making the digital factory more affordable and
accessible, and we're excited to see how our customers apply this
to ramp up and remain competitive with smarter factories."
Digital Factory is designed to integrate with existing customer
workflows. It is interoperable with Building Information Modelling
(BIM) applications, Hexagon's HxGN EAM enterprise asset management
solutions and popular CAD software such as AutoCAD and Bentley.
Notes to editor
High resolution images of a digitized factory, virtual machine
deployment and factory scanning are available.
*Hexagon estimates that the cost of missing a factory digital
reality can be up to €210,000 per year per site. For a global
manufacturing company with 200 sites, this amounts to €42 million
annually. This calculation considers the costs associated with
errors due to outdated factory layouts, a 50% reduction in travel
and travel-related expenses, and a 50% reduction in on-site
training by implementing virtual factory visits and virtual
training instead. Additionally, it accounts for the CO2
emissions that can be saved.
Media contacts
Robin Wolstenholme
Global Media Relations and Analyst Relations Manager
Hexagon's Manufacturing Intelligence Division
Phone: +44(0)7407 642190
e-mail: robin.wolstenholme@hexagon.com
Global press office: media.mi@hexagon.com
About Hexagon
Hexagon is a global leader in digital reality solutions,
combining sensor, software and autonomous technologies. We are
putting data to work to boost efficiency, productivity, quality and
safety across industrial, manufacturing, infrastructure, public
sector, and mobility applications.
Our technologies are shaping production and people related
ecosystems to become increasingly connected and autonomous –
ensuring a scalable, sustainable future. Hexagon's Manufacturing
Intelligence division provides solutions that use data from design
and engineering, production and metrology to make manufacturing
smarter. For more information, visit hexagonmi.com.
Hexagon (Nasdaq Stockholm: HEXA B) has approximately 23,000
employees in 50 countries and net sales of approximately
4.3bn Euro. Learn more at hexagon.com
and follow us @HexagonAB.
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