As the demand for precision in the manufacturing industry grows, Digital Twin (DT) technology is gaining attention for its potential to enhance equipment performance and process reliability. However, existing research has primarily focused on specific stages of design or operation, leaving a gap in the literature concerning DT models that can be utilized throughout the entire equipment lifecycle. To address this gap, this study proposes a method for developing a DT that employs a consistent Finite Element (FE) model across all phases of the equipment lifecycle. We utilized actual measurement data to ensure high fidelity in the FE model of previous-generation equipment, which we refer to as the Pre-DT. This Pre-DT was instrumental in improving design during the new equipment development phase. Additionally, the DT model was implemented to predict equipment status in real time using the Reduced-Order Model (ROM) method, functioning as a virtual sensor during operation. This approach was applied to the equipment development process, aligned with the asset lifecycle concept of RAMI 4.0, and was tested on an MLCC cutting equipment to validate its effectiveness.

In this study, blades manufactured by 3D printing technology were experimentally tested to be used for a scaled wind turbine in a wind tunnel. The scaled model was originally designed and manufactured by researchers at the Technical University of Munich. The model has been slightly modified to adopt the 3D printed blades for this study. Also, control algorithms for the power maximization in the low wind speed regions were constructed and applied to a commercial programmable logic controller for wind tunnel tests of the scaled model. For comparison, the scaled model was also modeled in MATLAB/Simulink and dynamic simulations were performed with the measured wind speed as an input. The simulation results seemed to overpredict the experimental results initially, but by considering the unexpected extra generator torque due to friction of the shaft, the errors were reduced to be less than 5%. Based on this study, the application of 3D printed blades to the wind turbine scaled models of a similar rotor diameter was found to be an efficient and effective way of blade manufacturing and scaled model testing.