Assessment of Virtual-Reality-Based Digital Twins in Automotive Manufacturing Process Validation

This research analyzes the usage of the digital twin technology, IC.IDO, in the automotive new model launch cycle by assessing the tool's capability to identify issues in the digital design period, prior to testing in the physical phase. The automotive industry is constantly looking to reduce the costs associated with new vehicle launches and this tool is capable of creating digital twins that can be used to address design issues early on in development. At Nissan there was an opportunity to define specific use cases for IC.IDO and the potential savings. On a recent new vehicle launch, Nissan paid vendors an additional $60M-$70M due to design changes made after the design was initially released. It was determined that IC.IDO is capable of addressing design concerns that account for at least $3M-$10M of the total. On average, a technician's operation could be simulated and evaluated in 3 hours. With 281 operations this would take at least 21 weeks to create and study process digital twins using IC.IDO. Additionally the tool was found capable of simulating 9 out of 13 types of process on the assembly line. With limited time during the design validation phases it is necessary to prioritize which operations to focus on. Optimal tasks to use the tool on are manual, require hand tools, or use non automated equipment. Tasks to avoid are operations with long wire harnesses or flexible parts, automated equipment, and certain aspects of assist equipment. What is evident is that these types of tools are rapidly advancing that will increase the value as it solves more complex tasks. Therefore it is the recommendation for Nissan Smyrna to spend up to $200k on a license of IC.IDO with a dedicated user starting in 2021. Adopting the tool with a dedicated user will move them out of the piloting phase and coincide with the upcoming new model design phase for a vehicle. Consideration should also be given that the tool has features not yet evaluated and is rapidly improving, which will unlock further benefits beyond what has been established. However, based on this tool's usage at companies like Ford and Boeing, it is known that it takes time to develop expertise, and only through dedicated resources being embedded into the development process will the real value be unlocked.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2021

Author dc:creator

• Reilly, Daniel

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Eppinger, Steven
• Winter, Amos

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
• Copyright retained by author(s)

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/139461

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/139461