Developing smart manufacturing talent.

Rockwell have expanded their long-standing partnership with Tecnológico de Monterrey (MX), supporting closer connections and learning on advanced manufacturing technologies. Mexico’s top-ranked university and member of the International Association of Learning Factories uses Rockwell technologies and curriculum input to create the smart manufacturing environment in a college learning setting. Tec de Monterrey shares the experiences of this environment at the Conference of Learning Factories every year.

In July, a team from Tec de Monterrey met with instructors and administrators in Cleveland State University’s Rockwell Automation Connected Enterprise Laboratory. The Tec team also forged relationships and found new synergies at Rockwell’s 2025 Automation Fair® in Chicago (USA).

In October, Tec’s mechatronics community, Rockwell experts, and manufacturers delved into digital engineering together at an international conference hosted at the university’s Toluca and Monterrey campuses, with more industry collaboration in Monterrey. “Manufacturers are looking for specialized talent in digital twin software,” said Oscar Lopez Suarez, Rockwell solution consultant lead. “We’re working with Tec de Monterrey to cover this gap and prepare students for smart manufacturing jobs in their region.”

Each semester, Tec engineering students participate in challenge-based learning. “Our objective is for students to develop not only technical skills, but also knowledge and ability in critical thinking, project management, safety, and international manufacturing standards,” said Dr. Raquel Tejada, a Department of Mechatronics professor in Tec’s School of Engineering and Sciences. “We want them to integrate all of these, to have the whole picture, so they are ready for real-world success.”

Developing digital twin talent.
Demand for digital twin skills is skyrocketing as manufacturers adopt 3D emulation technology, which saves time and resources during automation systems design and implementation. At Tec de Monterrey, engineering students built cutting-edge 3D emulation skills in their final project when they integrated technologies from Rockwell Automation, Endress+Hauser Group, and our partner NVIDIA in emulations that connected virtual design with physical plant control systems and instrumentation, and created immersive virtual reality tours. Through the collaborative learning experience with Tec de Monterrey professors and industry experts, the students developed the tools and confidence to launch their careers in Industry 4.0.

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@ROKAutomation @TecdeMonterrey @ROKAutoEMEA #PAuto #Mexico

Digital twin technology setting a new standard.

Accelerates project delivery and cuts costs for Brazil-based company.Rockwell Automation has achieved significant time savings, improved project accuracy and reduced operational costs for Falcare Industrial Equipment in Sao Caetano do Sup in Brazil. With more than 50 years serving retail, wholesale, food and beverage, logistics operations and automotive and machinery sectors, Falcare sought to strengthen project reliability and reduce time-consuming physical testing. The company faced increasing pressure to shorten sales cycles, eliminate field implementation rework and enhance the precision of complex automation systems.

To address these challenges, Falcare turned to Rockwell Automation’s digital twin technology, utilizing Emulate3D™ to simulate mechanical behavior, including robot and conveyor speeds, before machines were ever built. This approach significantly improved sustainability, energy efficiency and operational predictability.

By integrating Rockwell Automation’s suite of digital simulation and virtual commissioning tools, Falcare achieved:

• 60% faster project execution, enabling quicker customer previews and accelerated delivery timelines.
• Greater precision and quality, thanks to early validation that mitigates failures, errors and costly rework.
• Improved decision-making, driven by accurate digital modeling of equipment behavior.
• Reduced waste and energy use, resulting in more sustainable operations. 

This project represents a truly innovative leap forward as few Brazilian companies currently use virtual commissioning with control logic emulation to enhance post-sales support and cut implementation costs. Before adopting Rockwell’s technologies. Falcare attempted alternative tools but encountered limitations, including restricted modeling capacity, inadequate mechanicalautomation integration and dataprocessing bottlenecks. Emulate3D™ solved these issues by providing seamless integration between mechanics and controls, delivering a dynamic, highly accurate digital representation of the entire system. This enabled Falcare to preview system behavior, validate control logic and identify physical discrepancies well before deployment, reducing uncertainty and streamlining commissioning.

Falcare and Rockwell Automation (PT) have set a new standard for intralogistics engineering. By replacing traditional prototype testing with immersive digital simulation, Falcare can now:

• Confidently demonstrate system performance to customers early in the sales cycle.
• Enhance postsales support with greater visibility into system behavior.

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@ROKAutomation @ROKAutoEMEA #Falcare #PAuto

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Virtual commissioning of drive solutions.

NORD now offers digital twins for system development. Based on a myNORD configuration, it is now possible to request individually created drive systems as simulation models. This allows engineers to verify early in the planning phase whether the drive concept is suitable for the system. Virtual commissioning significantly reduces the project time even for complex systems.

Since the publication of the FMI (functional mock-up interface) technical standard in 2010, it has become more and more common to work with simulation models in system planning. NORD Drivesystems also uses data-based simulations for the development of its components and drive solutions. The system provider is now using this know-how to help its customers achieve greater efficiency and availability of its drive systems even in the planning phase by offering a digital service: With digital twins of its drives, NORD enables virtual commissioning.

Users can configure drive systems or components for their requirements as usual via the myNORD customer portal. They select components and their features such as performance, mounting options or outputs. Then, they can request a simulation model for the fully configured drive system. The process was developed by NORD in cooperation with the software company Machineering from Munich, which specialises in virtual commissioning.

The advantage of these digital twins of the NORD solutions is the significantly faster availability of the entire system. The simulation models are inserted into a similarly simulated system. In this environment, the drive configurations can be extensively tested. If adjustments are required, they can be easily implemented based on the data. Errors can be remedied in the early stages of development, avoiding potential later damage. Only once the virtual drive system has been validated by the customer, it will be manufactured and delivered by NORD. As the drives are already functionally integrated into the system control at this point, actual commissioning is possible in a very short time. The overall process from configuration to commissioning is reduced from several months to only a few weeks.

Virtual commissioning of drive systems is of special interest for any technically demanding solution. Therefore, NORD particularly focuses on components that play a decisive role in automating production processes. The manufacturer is kicking off the virtual commissioning with its range of high-efficiency IE5+ and IE4 motors, along with the corresponding gear units and frequency inverters. Simulation models will then gradually become available for other NORD product areas as well.

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@NORD_Drive @mepaxIntPR #Pauto

The complete digital twin of machines and plant systems.

The foundation for efficient engineering across disciplines.

Eplan has used this opportunity, with its new Eplan Platform 2026, to completely redevelop its entire portfolio, with an even greater focus on customers and their requirements in their respective market segments. One central point is the significant reduction in complexity. The new software portfolio makes the full power of the Eplan Platform clearer and with numerous enhancements provides a comprehensive complete solution in specific application fields. Furthermore, the Eplan Platform can easily be integrated into existing IT landscapes.

EPLAN's Jan Fleming

Companies are facing enormous challenges right now in successfully configuring their businesses and making them secure for the future. Solutions provider Eplan supports its customers in shortening the time to value. Comprehensive solutions have been created for this that are customised to the tasks and workflows in individual industries and customer segments and customers can immediately use them, optimised to their full extent for basic engineering, electrical engineering and control cabinet manufacturing without having to evaluate and procure additional modules and options.

Eplan’s Vice President Customer Journey Jan Fleming explains: “We have systematically aligned our product portfolio toward the tasks and workflows of our customers. The Eplan Platform 2026 provides maximum support for users in their respective application fields. This means more simplicity in engineering and at the same time valuable additional services that help our customers become even more efficient.”

All products in the Eplan Platform 2026 have been fundamentally reworked and functionally expanded and can be considered the new benchmark for electrical engineering. The launch is being accompanied by a complete new product portfolio. Previously optional extensions are now standard in some version of the software. The portfolio has been tailored to the specific requirements of certain market segments: Eplan Preplanning meets these requirements for operators and planners. Control cabinet construction is planned using Eplan Pro Panel and machine builders will find all the relevant functionality for their tasks in Eplan Electric P8.

New features include the cloud-based Eplan collaboration apps, the Eplan Data Portal, parts management eStock and eManage for data management, all of which are included in the scope of services for Eplan Electric P8, Eplan Pro Panel and Eplan Preplanning. Previously optional extensions are now included in some configuration levels. This allows users to make their processes even more efficient and consistent. This holds true for all project phases and for different industries from concept development to detail engineering and manufacturing to commissioning and operations.

Support for operators as well.
For instance, Eplan Preplanning now also covers electrical engineering requirements in the early planning phase in the form of single-line schematics in addition to the integration of preplanning data and professional creation of P&I diagrams. So aside from being able to be used by system integrators, the software can now also be used by operators and planners in basic engineering. Users benefit from preconfigured contents such as symbols, example data and forms that are specifically tailored to the tasks in machine building, control cabinet and switchgear system engineering, energy technology and building automation.

Flexible with or without the use of cloud services.
Depending on the configuration level, customers can now also collaborate internally and externally using the Eplan Cloud: cloud-based apps for device management, data management and the view of Eplan projects using the Viewer and now included. As soon as users activate their licences for the Eplan Platform 2026, the extended range of functionality is available to them. The only thing they have to do is install the new software – at no additional cost.

The new platform can also be integrated into ERP and PDM system via standardised interfaces. Digital data from the electrical engineering can also be used directly in manufacturing of control cabinets and by wiring machines and plant systems. In the area of automation technology, commercially available PLC planning and programming systems can also be directly connected via standard formats.

Accessing relevant data faster.
Another important new feature is that access from device management in Eplan now allows direct device data selection in the Data Portal. Users no longer have to “jump” from the Platform to the Portal. Just a click in Eplan Electric P8 brings them directly to device selection in the Portal and they can immediately download the required project data. This also applies to the cloud-based device management. In addition, devices can be described even more precisely with more than 400 new properties for devices.

Last but not least. the Eplan Download Center is now available to every Eplan user. At eplan.com, users can directly access software, tools, useful eLearning contents and licencing information. There they will also find information about the version currently in use as well as individual updates, which allow even larger jumps for updates to older versions with just a click.

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@EPLAN_global  @mepaxIntPR #PAuto

Subsurface simulation delivers complete end-to-end CCS model.

ABB has signed a partnership with Canadian-based Computer Modelling Group (CMG) – a global simulation technology company that has been involved in carbon capture for over 20 years – to incorporate subsurface modelling into their existing digital twin technology for commercial carbon capture and storage (CCS) operations.

Being able to simulate scenarios at every stage of the captured carbon dioxide’s journey from surface to underground – whether to subsea or land aquifers – reduces risks and saves costs by allowing operators to test options in a virtual setting.

With this collaboration, ABB will use its Ability™ OPTIMAX® energy management system to integrate above ground digital twin technology with CMG’s subsurface modelling, providing a full end-to-end solution.

“Capturing and storing carbon dioxide underground is a highly technical and challenging process. Being able to deliver proof of concept across the entire CCS process is crucial to accelerate adoption,” said Brandon Spencer, President of ABB Energy Industries. “Without subsurface modelling, industry simply cannot calculate the cost or manage the risks, which is crucial if we are to scale the CCS market to the extent required to support decarbonization of industry and emissions reductions in line with the Paris Accord.”

Subsurface modelling enables businesses to assess risks against various operating scenarios. These risks include losses or leakage often caused by unexpected physical and chemical reactions underground between the carbon dioxide, water, rocks and cement, or technical faults such as wellbore failure caused by salt precipitation.

“This partnership brings together two powerful technologies to develop a product to support the intelligent, real-time operational decision making required to make carbon storage a success at scale,” said Pramod Jain, CEO of CMG. “Advanced subsurface modelling is necessary to assess and monitor risks of CO2 injection against various operating scenarios and is critical to the safety, feasibility and scaling of carbon capture and storage projects. We are pleased to partner with ABB, a global leader in innovation, to provide our industry leading, subsurface simulation capabilities to their enhanced digital twin technology.”

In its updated Net Zero Roadmap (pdf), the International Energy Agency highlights CCS as a key contributor to reaching net zero emissions targets, but stresses that rapid progress is needed. Although the project pipeline offers a positive outlook, with CCS projects tripling in 2021 and nearly doubling again since, CCS still represents a small percentage of all decarbonization technologies deployed. For countries to achieve their net-zero commitments, uptake by industry needs to grow 120-fold by 2050 but if successful, CCS alone could be responsible for reducing global industrial carbon emissions by 45 percent, according to McKinsey & Company.

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@abb_automation @ABBgroupnews @ABBMeasurement @IEA @McKinsey @NapierPR #PAuto

Digital twins: The key to factory optimization?

What they are, the different kinds, how they benefit businesses, and predictions about what innovations they may bring about in the future. 

Digital twins are like virtual copies that help factories work better. By analyzing these virtual models, companies can prevent costly mistakes, improve production speed, and even introduce innovations that weren’t previously considered. Francesco Rivalta of Hubs explains.

What exactly are digital twins, and what benefits do they offer?
Digital twins can be virtual representations of physical objects, systems, or processes that act as a bridge between the digital and physical worlds. The real-time data acquired from sensors and machines allows digital twins to offer insights for optimizing operations, enhancing efficiency, and making informed decisions.

When used in factories, digital twins offer an array of far-reaching benefits. For example, digital twins help engineers or designers anticipate equipment issues and resolve them before they escalate into costly downtime. This results in increased asset lifespan, reduced maintenance costs, and enhanced productivity.

They can also facilitate informed decision-making through simulations and scenario analyses, allowing engineers to test and validate strategies in a risk-free, virtual environment – leading to better strategic planning, faster problem-solving, and the ability to adapt swiftly to changing factory or market conditions.

In addition to their operational advantages, digital twins foster innovation and drive technological advancements. By providing a platform for continuous experimentation and prototyping, they expedite the development of new products and services, potentially shortening time-to-market.

Finally, digital twins enable manufacturers to align their sustainability goals with real-world outcomes. They can help optimize resource consumption, energy usage, and waste generation in factories, contributing to eco-friendly practices and reduced environmental impact.

(Pic: Siemens)

What are the types of digital twins?
Digital twins are categorized into various types to effectively capture the diverse range of applications and complexities they address. Grouping digital twins allows manufacturers to tailor their implementation to specific needs, such as optimizing product design or monitoring complex manufacturing processes.

Each type corresponds to a specific focus, allowing factories to deploy digital twins that align with their unique objectives. Here are four of the most common types of digital twins.

Product digital twins.
Product digital twins represent physical products and assets. They are used throughout the product lifecycle, from design and development to manufacturing, operation, and maintenance. Product digital twins help optimize machine or part design, simulate performance, monitor usage, and enable predictive maintenance.

Process digital twins.
Using digital twins, we can simulate and play out manufacturing processes and other complex workflows. They highlight bottlenecks, enhance production, and up the efficiency game. They’ve also proven to be quite useful in managing supply chain operations — a challenge many businesses have grappled with, as outlined in this report.

System digital twins.
System digital twins represent entire systems or environments, such as factories and industrial complexes, enabling holistic monitoring, analysis, and optimization of interconnected components or processes.

Asset digital twins.
Asset digital twins focus on individual physical assets, such as machinery, equipment, or infrastructure. They facilitate remote monitoring, predictive maintenance, and performance optimization.

The future of digital twins.
As digital twins technology continues to evolve, it will become woven into the fabric of manufacturing for any forward-looking company. From autonomous robotics to intelligent supply chains, the integration of digital twins will pave the way for smarter, more efficient, and highly responsive manufacturing ecosystems.

Despite the innovation in digital twins technology, there's room for further refinement. For instance, creating the digital twin is quite a complex process that requires specialized hardware, software, and professionals who need to understand both the technology and the domain to which it's applied. There is room for optimism that advancements in AI technology will streamline and simplify these aspects to some extent.

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@HubsMFG @Protolabs #Manufacturing #Automation

Automation components get their digital representations.

Designing and programming efficient handling systems using the virtual model: That is how errors can be detected and corrected at an early stage, which significantly contributes to efficient and stable operation later.

Faster time-to-market, more efficient engineering, more functionality, and higher quality – these are the benefits of a digital twin for machine and system builders. Festo is working to equip its automation components with a digital twin – a digital representation in the form of administration shells. The company has joined forces with other international automation partners and the Industrial Digital Twin Association because standardisation is what machine and system builders expect. The advantages offered by digital twins was very effectively demonstrated by a collaboratively built machine for a labelling application at the Hannover Fair last month.

Gerhard Borho

Digital twins can be used in many places in engineering, depending on the application. "Machine and system builders will demand digital twins so that they can develop their machines and systems faster and make fewer mistakes during the process," explains Gerhard Borho, Member of the Management Board Digitalisation at Festo. Step by step, the principle of "digital first" continues to advance. Components and machines are developed virtually as much as possible before the hardware is produced; this also applies to testing and system integration. Similar developments can be seen in factory planning.

Shortening project timelines.
Shorter development times require further simultaneous engineering by the machine builders. Digital twins therefore need to precisely replicate the capabilities of the components, if necessary, down to the physical behaviour. This significantly shortens customers' project timelines and increases productivity. Even before a machine developer has assembled the machine hardware, they can simulate it, test it, and make adjustments. For example, they can design and program optimum, efficient handling systems using the virtual model. That is how errors can be detected and corrected at an early stage, which significantly contributes to efficient and stable operation later.

Graphic digital twin (cube)

Digital twins of automation components are much more than just 3D models that move virtually. They are digital representations that provide all kinds of information about the components, including a clear description of their capabilities, the documentation, the behaviour – e.g., simulation of their kinematics and kinetics – and the communication with them, including the role they play in the machine.

Focus on the entire life cycle.
The Industry 4.0 machine architecture is based entirely on digital twins. Thanks to their standardised communication interfaces, they make life easier for our customers throughout virtually the entire lifecycle of a machine: from virtual commissioning and control of the machine to data acquisition and the resulting value-added services such as maintenance or diagnostics. Behavioural models of pneumatic functions were used to virtually commission the labelling machine mentioned earlier. The reduced need for searching in catalogues, on support portals or for preparing machine documentation provides further time savings.

Until now, there was a multitude of data for each automation component in different formats such as CAD, PDF or even paper manuals. Data management was therefore cumbersome and difficult to access throughout the entire lifecycle of an automation product. This lack of digital continuity also made it difficult to fully network all objects. Festo is therefore working on seamless and consistent communication technology such as OPC-UA. Ultimately, the administration shell is used as a central source of information to utilise digital twins throughout a component's service life.

Digital twins make things easier right from the planning stage and the preparation of concrete proposals. "Intelligent algorithms can be used to design and configure optimum and, at the same time, energy-efficient components," adds the Member of the Management Board Digitalisation at Festo.

Advantages during commissioning.
A virtual model allows the developer to test whether the slide can be moved, for example, and view the process data from the displacement encoder or the signal from the end position sensors. If the developer wants to create control sequences for the machine, they can easily be created using the components' functions such as extend, rotate, or grip.

Other value-added services can also be implemented on the basis of digital twins. The condition monitoring function generates a message when, for example, operating components are approaching the end of their service life. The machine's digital twin could then automatically order spare parts. If at that point there are newer models for the components being replaced, the customer can use the virtual environment to first test how the new components interact before ordering them.

Condition monitoring can also be used in conjunction with the simulation models of the digital twins to create predictive maintenance plans. Furthermore, customers can use the digital twins to develop and test subsequent changes, optimisations, or reconfigurations on the virtual model before these are implemented on the machine, which speeds up the process.

Together with other component suppliers, Festo has incorporated the digital twins of its electric and pneumatic automation products into a use case that gives machine and system builders the opportunity to discover the advantages of the digital twins live in the engineering tools from Siemens.

@FestoGB  @festo_global @Publitek #Automation #PAuto #Manufacturing

Colloboration strengthens development of digital twin technology.

Digital Twin Consortium® (DTC) and OPC Foundation announced a liaison agreement to accelerate the development and adoption of digital twin-enabling technologies during this months ARC Forum 2023. The DTC and the OPC Foundation have worked closely in several open-source reference implementation projects on GitHub and have agreed to collaborate even closer.

“We are excited about working with OPC Foundation,” said Dan Isaacs, GM, and CTO of DTC. "Through our collaboration, we will influence interoperability standards and processes that will advance the use of digital twins in manufacturing across many industries.”

The DTC and OPC Foundation have agreed to the following activities:

• Collaborating on standardization requirements
• Realizing interoperability by harmonizing technology components and other elements
• Aligning work in horizontal domains for adoption in vertical domains and use cases, proof of concepts, and Value Innovation Platforms (VIP) programs, including:
> Technology, terminology, and taxonomy
> Security and trustworthiness
> Conceptual, informational, structural, and behavioral models
> Enabling technologies, such as simulation and AI
> Technology stack across the digital twin lifecycle
> Case study development


• Developing and understanding open-source reference implementations

Stefan Hoppe, President OPC Foundation, said, “The OPC Foundation maintains the global standard for secure industrial interoperability for information modeling and data exchange, which, as part of this relationship with DTC, benefits all who wish to create semantically identical digital twins. Our involvement to liaise with DTC further strengthens the user’s ability to model each data aspect quickly and precisely, creating and interacting with any digital twin. Digital twins will be fully compatible with the OPC UA framework used in the run-time components within the operational domain.”
“As one of the key contributors to Digital Twin Consortium’s open-source program, Microsoft saw the rising demand for open digital twin technology and industrial interoperability standards like OPC UA. The collaboration of OPC Foundation and DTC will continue to elevate the impact of digital twin technologies. These two organizations have already started collaborating on open-source projects and these projects will expand to include emerging technologies,” said Erich Barnstedt, Chief Architect Standards, Consortia and Industrial IoT, Azure Edge + Platform, Microsoft Corporation.

Both consortia will exchange information through regular consultations, joint contributor relations, seminars, open-source projects, and other activities.

@OPCFoundation @DigitalTwinCon @arc_advisory #PAuto