Varex Imaging in Doetinchem wants the designing process of new products to be more efficient and to be done in a shorter time span. Currently the time to market is the main key performance index that Varex aims to improve. All products that are developed by Varex need to be FDA approved, which requires that physical tests are performed to ensure conformity with the regulations. Sometimes the first iterations of the newly designed product do not pass the test. When this happens the engineering team needs to go back to the drawing board and produce a redesign that addresses the previous failure. The physical test must be performed again until it is completed successfully. This workflow costs a lot of resources that Varex would rather spare.

The company hopes that digital twinning technology will solve this issue by being able to simulate the product before going to physical tests. The aim is to improve the first time right key performance index by digitally evaluating the product before physically testing it. This will reduce the number of physical prototypes and tests down to the lowest necessary amount.

This semester 6 project aimed to look at digital twin technology and discover what it could mean for the R&D department of Varex. It was discovered that the aim of this project was not necessarily the objective that best suits the clients endeavor towards a more efficient and integrated R&D process. From the results of the research papers, it can be concluded that digital twin in its literal meaning is not the thing that Varex should pursue. The solution in the opinion of the project group lies in a fundamental different workflow of the R&D department. This workflow will consists of a more integrated use of simulation software all throughout the engineering process and model-based engineering principles.

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