FEATURE MACHINE BUILDING, FRAMEWORKS & SAFETY
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EMBRACING TRANSFORMATION WITH DIGITAL TWINS
Expertise, components, digital twin
software and flexible financing have helped in the upgrade of a portal milling centre without unacceptable operational interruption
industrial centrifuges, is at the forefront of modern thinking. In fact digital transformation is a key factor to help the company be as successful in the next century as it has been in the last. So, when the company wanted
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to upgrade its Waldrich Coburg VTF 3500 portal milling centre, it needed a method of doing so that was affordable, that did not impose unacceptable operational interruption, and that would help the company benefit from a phase change in productivity. Digital transformation of the machine also supported Broadbent’s corporate desire to improve the company’s sustainability footprint.
THE SOLUTION Siemens integration partner CT Systems – with the support of Siemens and SFS – managed to fulfil all these criteria. Knowledge of Broadbent’s business, latest digital technology and smart financing were brought together in the partnership to make the solution both possible and affordable. The solution proposed by CT Systems was a full retrofit of the machine, which would contain costs and carbon emissions, while making a major improvement in machine productivity. “The powerful combination of CT Systems
expertise, Siemens components and digital twin software, and flexible financing from SFS, is critical to make this project work financially as well as technically,” commented Matthew Durkin-Jones, finance director of Broadbent. Using Siemens simulation and digital twin
software, CT Systems are positioned to develop the retrofit over some 12 months – all in the virtual world and all off-site. This turns traditional retrofit timings, where development happens on-site, on their head. Formerly, this retrofit would have taken three to four months of effective downtime. This would have been an unacceptable interruption for Broadbent to have the machine out of action. Using the digital twin, physical installation and
final live testing can therefore be compressed into just three to four weeks.
espite celebrating its 160th year, Thomas Broadbent, the UK manufacturer of
through to me from its sensor arrays. It minimises time on site while improving the sensitivity of the service we can provide.”
HOW IT WORKS CT Systems carefully analysed what components of the machine needed replacing to achieve full modernisation and digital transformation of the machine. For instance, all field wiring was kept, along with the spindle motors, but a wholly new electrical panel was built, with motor drive units replaced along with Siemens controllers. All this will happen at CT Systems
premises and in the virtual world. The original machine is continuing to do its job until the retrofit is designed, tested and finalised in the digital twin. Only then will on-site installation start, later next year.
Mark Coombes, MTS business manager, Siemens Digital Industries, added: “Digitalisation offers many advantages to OEM’s, retrofitters, and manufacturers, such as enhanced efficiency, cost savings and innovation. With all the digital tools available on Broadbent’s retrofit project, the transparency on machine performance allows far more informed decisions on OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) and other analyses. It makes projects commercially possible through advanced technology which, just a few years ago, might have seemed very difficult to achieve or justify.”
THE FINANCIAL SOLUTION Chris Haigh, managing director of CT Systems,
said: “The digital twin capabilities make digital transformation possible at Broadbent without business interruption. Digital transformation also means we can install a remote diagnostics and maintenance capability. In fact, this is something we are now installing on every project we do.
“Digitalisation offers many advantages to OEM’s, retrofitters, and manufacturers, such as enhanced
efficiency, cost savings and innovation”
Again, this is a game-changer. It means that we can manage diagnostics and support over the internet, with machine information flowing
16 DESIGN SOLUTIONS DECEMBER/JANUARY 2025
A financing arrangement from SFS covered the required payments to CT Systems for use of the digital twin software during the development phase. This forward financing has then been wrapped into staged payments from Broadbent over a three-year period following installation, in a way that also accommodates the company’s cash-flow and liquidity position. In short, it is a tailored arrangement that fitted neatly around all parties’ financial requirements, enabling and smoothing the c.£400,000 retrofit investment. Carolyn Newsham, Siemens Financial
Services, commented: “The digital transformation imperative is being felt right across manufacturing industry. But we’re also in a tight economic period where input costs remain inflated. We’re totally committed at SFS to using our expertise to bring flexible financing arrangements which make these investments in modern capabilities affordable and financially sustainable. The structure we have put together for Broadbent is a leading example of what good financing should look like.”
Siemens Financial Services
www.siemens.com
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