Mercedes-Benz is utilizing digital twins for manufacturing with assist from NVIDIA Omniverse, a platform for growing Common Scene Description (OpenUSD) purposes to design, collaborate, plan and function manufacturing and meeting services.

Mercedes-Benz’s new manufacturing methods will deliver its next-generation automobile portfolio into its manufacturing services working in Rastatt, Germany; Kecskemét, Hungary; and Beijing, China — and provide a blueprint for its greater than 30 factories worldwide. This “Digital First” method enhances effectivity, avoids defects and saves time, marking a step-change within the flexibility, resilience and intelligence of the Mercedes-Benz MO360 manufacturing system.

The digital twin in manufacturing helps guarantee Mercedes-Benz meeting strains could be retooled, configured and optimized in bodily correct simulations first. The brand new meeting strains within the Kecskemét plant will allow manufacturing of automobiles based mostly on the newly launched Mercedes Modular Structure which might be developed just about utilizing digital twins in Omniverse.

By leveraging Omniverse, Mercedes-Benz can work together straight with its suppliers, decreasing coordination processes by 50%. Utilizing a digital twin in manufacturing doubles the pace for changing or setting up an meeting corridor, whereas enhancing the standard of the processes, in accordance with the automaker.

“Utilizing NVIDIA Omniverse and AI, Mercedes-Benz is constructing a related, digital-first method to optimize its manufacturing processes, in the end decreasing development time and manufacturing prices,” mentioned Rev Lebaredian, vice chairman of Omniverse and simulation expertise at NVIDIA, throughout a digital occasion held earlier right now.

As well as, the introduction of AI opens up new areas of power and value financial savings. The Rastatt plant is getting used to pioneer digital manufacturing within the paint store. Mercedes-Benz used AI to observe related sub-processes within the pilot testing, which led to power financial savings of 20%.

Supporting State-of-the-Artwork Software program Techniques

Subsequent-generation Mercedes-Benz automobiles will characteristic its new working system “MB.OS,” which will probably be customary throughout its total automobile portfolio and ship premium software program capabilities and experiences throughout all automobile domains.

Mercedes-Benz has partnered with NVIDIA to develop software-defined automobiles. Its fleets will probably be constructed on NVIDIA DRIVE Orin and DRIVE software program, with clever driving capabilities examined and validated within the NVIDIA DRIVE Sim platform, which can also be constructed on Omniverse.

The automaker’s MO360 manufacturing system will allow it to supply electrical, hybrid and gasoline fashions on the identical manufacturing strains and to scale the manufacturing of electrical automobiles. The implementation of MB.OS in manufacturing will enable its automobiles to roll off meeting strains with the newest variations of auto software program.

“Mercedes-Benz is initiating a brand new period of automotive manufacturing because of the mixing of synthetic intelligence, MB.OS and the digital twin based mostly on NVIDIA Omniverse into the MO360 ecosystem,” mentioned Jörg Burzer, member of the board of the Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Manufacturing, High quality and Provide Chain Administration. “With our new ‘Digital First’ method, we unlock effectivity potential even earlier than the launch of our MMA fashions in our world manufacturing community and may speed up the ramp-up considerably.”

Versatile Factories of the Future

Avoiding pricey manufacturing manufacturing shutdowns is crucial. Working simulations in NVIDIA Omniverse permits manufacturing facility planners to optimize manufacturing facility ground and manufacturing line layouts for provide routes, and manufacturing strains could be validated with out having to disrupt manufacturing.

This digital method additionally permits environment friendly design of latest strains and alter administration for current strains whereas decreasing downtime and serving to enhance product high quality. For the world’s automakers, a lot is at stake throughout the complete software program improvement stack, from chip to cloud.

Omniverse Collaboration for Efficiencies 

The Kecskemét plant is the primary with a full digital twin of the complete manufacturing facility. This digital space permits improvement on the coronary heart of meeting, between its tech and trim strains. And plans are for the brand new Kecskemét manufacturing facility corridor to launch into full manufacturing.

Collaboration in Omniverse has enabled plant suppliers and planners to work together with one another interactively within the digital setting, in order that format choices and automation adjustments could be integrated and validated in actual time. This accelerates how rapidly new manufacturing strains can attain most capability and reduces the danger of re-work or stoppages.

Digital collaboration with digital twins can speed up planning and implementation of tasks by weeks, in addition to translate to important value financial savings for launching new manufacturing strains.

Study extra about NVIDIA Omniverse and DRIVE Orin.