The What and Why of Digital Threads and Twins – A Report from the Field
A Complimentary CIMdata Educational Webinar with James Roche, Aerospace & Defense Practice Director, CIMdata
13 March 2025
11:00 EDT | 08:00 PDT | 17:00 CET
Do any of the following statements sound familiar?
- Our attempts to implement a digital thread have resulted in a series of false starts and frustration.
- An eBOM/mBOM strategy seems doable at first but then stalls out as unforeseen complexities arise and uncertainty sets in.
- Our attempts to implement a digital thread or digital twin (DT-DT) have resulted in false starts and frustration.
- A DT-DT strategy seems doable initially but then stalls out as unforeseen complexities arise and uncertainty sets in.
- Our attempts to implement digital transformations in product development, production, operation, and support have been derailed by the lack of a roadmap for linking the multiple product representations of the various disciplines involved and creating virtual geometric and behavioral replicas.
- The range of DT-DT possibilities is so expansive that it is difficult to know where to start.
- The DT-DT vision appears sophisticated and complex. It is hard for us to see how it applies to industries with products less complex than airplanes and automobiles.
Digital threads and digital twins do not create product data; instead, they serve as frameworks for interrelating and combining product lifecycle data to provide valuable insights about a product and how it is produced, operated, and serviced. This webinar will explain the what and the why of digital threads and twins. “What” refers to the scope of data to be interrelated as a digital thread or combined as a digital twin. “Why” emphasizes the value created from the data interrelationships and combinations. The possibilities are limitless and represent both the challenge and the opportunity. Which are practical and achievable with current methods and tools? How do you choose where to focus near-term and longer-term investment?
This webinar will also present early findings from an ongoing research project. Several major industry organizations, including the AD PAG, AIAA, OMG, ProStep iViP, and SAE International, are working together to develop a set of use cases and engage with seven digital thread and digital twin solution providers to test and evaluate the implementation and performance of these use cases.
By Attending this Webinar You Will:
- Understand the core concepts of digital thread and digital twin.
- Learn about the different product representations relevant to the various creators and consumers along the lifecycle.
- Learn the basic guidelines for designing the structure and content of digital threads and digital twins.
- Gain insight into how solution providers implement digital threads and digital twins.
- Gain initial exposure to the performance and value achieved from a range of digital thread and digital twin use cases.
Who should attend?
Anyone with responsibility or interest in product program integration, systems engineering, PLM program planning, or more generally in product, production, service digitalization, or digital transformation would find the webinar interesting. Specific roles would include:
- Product program managers
- Product program planners
- Systems engineers
- PLM program and project managers
- PLM program planners
- PLM solution architects
- PLM business analysts
- Digitalization strategists
- Digitalization solution architects
- Digital transformation strategists
- Digital transformation solution architects
During the webinar, you’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions about the topics discussed.