Engineering company Etteplan Oyj and Mevea Oy, specialized in simulation software, have developed a digital twin for Sleipner Finland Ltd.’s product, which Sleipner will use in digitalizing its marketing and after-sales processes.

Sleipner Finland Ltd. is a company based in Jyväskylä that manufactures and markets globally innovative and safe transport systems for tracked equipment for customers in the mining, quarrying and earth moving sectors, for example. Using Sleipner’s transport system, excavators can be transported from one place to another cost-effectively and sustainably.

In the application developed by Etteplan and Mevea, an excavator and Sleipner’s transport system can be used in a simulation model whose functional characteristics and performance correspond fully with the physical machines. The simulation model also includes an entirely real-life mining environment. The simulation model provides end users with the required training without disturbing the customer’s production.

Sleipner’s goal is to develop a digital platform, or portal, that will bring all of the customer’s after-sales services under one user interface. The digital twin is part of Sleipner’s digital package, which initially serves the training of end customers and dealers. The concept is familiar from the mining industry, but Sleipner is the first in the world to bring the digital twin into mining equipment transport logistics. Through the digital twin, Sleipner is seeking increased customer satisfaction and market differentiation.

Working together on digital twins, Etteplan and Mevea jointly developed the solution for Sleipner utilizing Mevea’s software. Etteplan and Sleipner are long-term partners in the mechanical engineering and technical documentation of Sleipner’s products.

The digitalization of customers’ businesses is one of Etteplan’s strategic growth areas. Etteplan has invested considerably in the development and roll-out of digital twins and other new technologies supporting the digitalization of customers’ businesses.

-  The digital twin holds a key role in developing our user training services based on customer needs. By simulation based training we ensure that the users’ have a high skill level and that they are able to use the solution in a safe and efficient way. In future, it will also generate new ways to sell and market our product. Etteplan’s and Mevea’s comprehensive expertise in the technology and the development opportunities it offers our business has been paramount for us. Our collaboration has made it possible for us to focus on developing our core business, says Tomi Korhonen, Sleipner Finland’s Managing Director.

Digital twins are simulation models of a product, machine or production line. They are identical in terms of their characteristics and functions, including their environment, to their physical siblings. A twin can be used at all stages of a product’s lifecycle, such as in product development, production planning or after-sales. It can be used to simulate a device’s or production line’s operations virtually before making the decision to start manufacturing. For industrial device manufacturers, digital twins are particularly well-suited for use in training because they do away with the need to transport machines or take them out of production for the duration of training.

Sleipner Finland will present its solution at the FinnMateria trade fair in Jyväskylä from November 21 to 22, 2018.