Layout and material flow optimization in digital factory

The ability to realize customized products, in particular for engineering-to-order companies, is a key factor in order to be competitive in modern market without incurring any additional cost and respecting customer lead time. In this ever-changing environment the layout optimization is a fundamental issue requirement, hence the development of a virtual layout, according to the Digital Factory concepts, can be very useful to identify and to solve potential problems during the planning phase, before realize it. The main aim of this paper is represented by the proposal of a layout reconfiguration and a technological solution for the parts feeding system of the industrial plant analysed in order to reduce the production lead times. In the first phase, an overview of the Digital Factory applications is provided. In the second phase, after data analysis in an Italian manufacturing company, a simulation model has been designed and tested using Simio simulation software. Simulations results concerning production and queue times obtained from different orders have been compared with actual configuration data. Research results indicate that the surveyed company has had an improvement in terms of reduction of waiting times and increase of customers satisfaction due to total production lead time reduction.