A Real-World Use Case Example With IOTA

In recent months, the Lab for Machine Tools & Production Engineering (WZL) of RWTH Aachen University got involved in an extensive research about the “Internet of Production.” Their research is a success and has paved way for an efficient future era of production. Ralf Rottmann, the founder of Grandcentrix announced that the integration of a digital twin supported on the IOTA tangle was now complete.

The entire research and development process took just six months and the new machines are ready for shipping to the customers. The public IOTA Project features a fineblanking machine that produces workpieces, as the data and metadata about these pieces concurrently get logged. The data is then signed and the signature gets recorded in the Tangle.

Super excited to celebrate the complete integration of a digital twin on the #IOTA tangle. A cooperation between @rwth_wzl and @grandcentrix. I love these real-world use cases! Thanks to @DanielTrauth for making this happen! pic.twitter.com/DLc1maynw6

— Ralf Rottmann (@ralf) November 20, 2018

Amazing innovation:
Digitizing an analogue production process, and creating an immutable digital copy of each product — called a digital twin.
Very useful for supply chain monitoring, product authentication, safety recalls, and forensics #IOTA #DigitalTwins https://t.co/SOrl8ICgTz

— Bas van Sambeek (@daarisbas) November 20, 2018

Then, the collected data is put up for sale on a marketplace and its authenticity is validated by the signature originally written to the Tangle. The public IOTA project will continue to flank the process of the whole real IOTA application in the future.

The IOTA Token co-founder Dominik Schiener expressed,

The big question: What value does #DLT bring to the real world? #IOTA is answering that. Today we have a live application of #IOTA being utilized for digital twins at @rwth_wzl with actual industrial machines. Check it out https://t.co/BTkVa9p1OD

— Dominik Schiener (@DomSchiener) November 20, 2018

Big Data

A plethora of data is generated on a daily basis because of the progressive digitization of all real-life areas including science, communication, and the internet. Measurements in advanced industrial processes are known to create an array of data. Dealing with all the data is essential for machines to reach the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 working targets.

Fineblanking Big Data

The WZL of RWTH Aachen University has successfully worked on the fineblanking machine real life IOTA application. In this process, the metal gets decoiled from a metal coil sheet. Later, the decoiled metal is fed to a straightening system that flattens the sheet. A fineblanking press then works on the flattened material, cutting at speeds of four parts per second from the flattened material.

The process is ideal for the mass production of security-critical components like brake carriers. All parts should be identical. Nonetheless, material, process, and surrounding area uncertainties result in different clean-cuts and die-rolls. Highly expensive post-processing steps are necessary to achieve uniformity.

Introduction of IOTA will eliminate all these costly post-processing steps hence significantly decreasing manufacturing costs. The Tangle will capture all significant data from the process and come up with a data-driven and physical-based combined approach. Data is read directly from the machine in real-time.

Also, self-attached image and video feeds, vibration, force sensors, acoustics, and material property sensor will collect and save up to 10 Gbit / s theoretically. The public IOTA project has enabled Grandcentrix and WZL to create a self-governing, ‘autonomous’ machine that controls itself and optimizes the fineblanking process.

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