The Factory

The Factory is the community of students and researchers of the Digital Twin Lab of the Politecnico di Milano, dedicated to innovation and research in the field of Digital Twin. The community deals with the development of hardware and software for miniaturised production lines, made with LEGO® bricks and installed at the Department of Mechanics of the Politecnico. These lines reproduce the behaviour of a real production system: the LEGO® blocks act as a structure for the production line, while the machines stop their movement for a time equivalent to real production cycles. To make the system even more faithful, variations such as breakdowns or machine stops are simulated. This approach allows the productivity of the system to be analysed in a way that could be comparable to that of a real plant. In addition to physical simulation, the project aims to develop advanced digital models to monitor and optimise line performance using sensors and algorithms. The systems will also be used as demonstrators for the research projects of the Production Systems group, with a focus on simulation models. The Factory also actively participates in the international Auto Twin project, contributing to the advancement of technologies for the factory of the future.