Hexagon Unveils Digital Solution to Optimize Factories

Hexagon's Manufacturing Intelligence division has launched its new digitalization solution, Digital Factory, designed to help manufacturers build 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. 

Digital Factory leverages a portfolio of hardware and software solutions that includes Hexagon's 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 collaborate and 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.
• Create operational test-beds and innovate faster – By testing out new machines, factory floor layouts and workflows in the virtual 3D environment, companies can identify feasibility and emissions considerations.
• 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.
• Easily upgrade and install equipment—ntroduce and upgrade machinery such as machining centers, 3D printers, robotics and metrology systems by evaluating their addition or replacement in a risk-free digital model. This helps prevent mistakes such as ordering incorrect parts, not having sufficient footprint or access to install a machine.

“Hexagon has developed a deep understanding of manufacturers' needs,” says Nicholas Lachaud Bandres, vice president of Industry Solutions at Hexagon. “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.”

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.

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