Part data integration in the Shop Floor Digital Twin: Mobile and cloud technologies to enable a manufacturing execution system

The availability of data from a manufacturing operation can be used to enable an increase in capability, adaptability, and awareness of the process. In current cyber-physical systems, data are collected from pieces of manufacturing equipment and used to drive useful change and affect production output. The data gathered typically describe the operating state of the equipment, such as a machine tool, and can be provided using standard protocols. One such protocol, known as MTConnect, is becoming increasingly popular to collect data from machine tools. Other useful data can be collected from production personnel using a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) to monitor process output, consumable usage, and operator productivity. However, MTConnect data and MES data usually reside in separate systems that may be proprietary and expensive. This paper describes the development and implementation of a new MES, powered by Android devices and cloud computing tools, that combines MTConnect data with production data collected from operators; the proposed MES is particularly suitable for small manufacturing enterprises, as it is low-cost and easily implementable. A case study using the MES to track a production run of titanium parts is presented, and data from the MES are correlated with MTConnect data from a machine tool. This work is integral to realizing a complete digital model of the shop floor, known as the Shop Floor Digital Twin, that can be used for production control and optimization.