Digital twins to facilitate waste-free industrial production

The ZDZW (Zero Defects, Zero Waste) project in Europe is working on the creation of digital services for non-destructive inspections (NDI), which will contribute to the sustainability of the production process by improving monitoring and quality control services during production.

According to the National Statistics Institute (INE), industry in Spain produces more than 17 million tons of waste. To address this problem, the ITI technology center is working on digital non-destructive inspection services through the ZDZW (Zero Defects, Zero Waste) project, which aims to achieve sustainable manufacturing without defects and waste by improving monitoring and quality control services in the production process.

This project is carried out in collaboration with organizations from 10 different countries to develop services that integrate a series of strategic technologies. The main purpose is to reduce product defects, increase production efficiency and promote sustainable manufacturing in sectors such as automotive, home appliances, renewable energy, digital health, food and beverage.

Miguel Sanchís, who is R&D project manager, explained that the main objective of this project is to develop complete solutions based on machine learning technology and digital twins. To achieve this, technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Computing will be used to create an Inspection as a Service (IaaS) system that will be available through an online marketplace at ZDZW. This will allow constant and real-time communication between the different points of supervision and control of the production system, using a cloud platform connected to the Marketplace and recording its traceability through Blockchain.

Today, there is greater awareness of the importance of adopting sustainable practices in all industries. More and more companies are seeking to implement measures to reduce their environmental impact and promote more responsible production. This ranges from the use of recycled materials to the use of renewable energies in their production processes. These actions are intended not only to protect the environment, but also to ensure a sustainable future for generations to come.