06-08-2026 | Posted by Principia
Introducing a new product reference, increasing a line’s capacity or modifying a packaging format are decisions that can affect an entire food production plant. Changes can alter manufacturing times, cause bottlenecks, demand new cleaning operations or generate downtime that is difficult to foresee.
Carrying out tests directly on the factory floor involves taking on costs and risks. What if it were possible to check beforehand how the line would respond?
Virtual twins make it possible to digitally replicate a factory, a line or a production process to analyse its operation and test different scenarios before transferring them to the real environment. In the food industry, this capability can help anticipate problems, optimise resources and make more informed decisions.
A virtual twin is a digital representation of a real product, process or system. In the manufacturing sector, it can replicate anything from a specific machine to a production line or an entire factory.
However, it is not just about creating a three-dimensional representation of the facilities. The model can incorporate information about equipment, operations, production times, available resources, material movements and operator intervention. In this way, it allows for the analysis of not only what the factory looks like, but also how it operates.
The virtual twin of a food plant could represent, for example:
Based on this representation, the company can simulate changes, compare alternatives and study their potential consequences without initially interfering with actual production.
The food industry works with a wide variety of products, formats, recipes and manufacturing conditions. Added to this are demands related to quality, food safety, traceability and shelf-life periods. A virtual twin can help manage this complexity through scenario simulation.
Incorporating a new product reference may require different ingredients, a distinct packaging format, specific processing times or new cleaning operations. Before introducing it to the real line, the manufacturer can simulate how it will fit into the schedule, what resources it will need and how it will affect the rest of production. This facilitates the detection of potential incompatibilities and allows for the comparison of different manufacturing sequences.
A production line does not always advance at the same pace at every stage. A machine with lower capacity, a manual operation or an excessively long waiting time can limit overall throughput. By replicating the production flow, the virtual twin identifies where backups occur, how long equipment remains idle or which operation is restricting line capacity. The company can then test different solutions before making an investment or modifying the process.
Moving machinery, expanding a production area or changing the path of materials can have consequences that are difficult to assess on a conventional blueprint. In a virtual environment, it is possible to test different layouts, analyse product and operator movements, and check how each alternative will affect overall operations. DELMIA Virtual Factory, for instance, allows for the creation and simulation of three-dimensional virtual twins of factories, including the layout of machines, work cells and production lines.
Food demand can fluctuate due to seasons, commercial campaigns, changes in consumer habits or raw material availability. The virtual twin allows for the testing of different batch sizes, shifts, sequences and production volumes. It can also help study what would happen in the event of a breakdown, a supply delay or an unexpected variation in orders. Dassault Systèmes promotes the use of this technology in the food and beverage industry to simulate factory performance, optimise batch production and achieve more agile manufacturing flows.
Within the 3DEXPERIENCE ecosystem by Dassault Systèmes, DELMIA brings together solutions aimed at the planning, simulation, optimisation and execution of manufacturing and supply chain operations.
Its virtual twin proposal for manufacturing allows for the visualisation and simulation of production systems to analyse potential improvements before bringing them to the physical world.
In a food plant, DELMIA can be used to study issues such as:
The virtual model thus becomes a space for experimentation. Instead of merely reacting when a problem arises, production managers can pose different scenarios and anticipate their effects.
Dassault Systèmes groups part of these capabilities for the food industry under the Perfect Production solution, aimed at building the virtual twin of manufacturing processes and improving production visibility, control and synchronisation.
Let us imagine that a dairy manufacturer wants to launch a new single-serve format. The product uses the same base as other references but requires a different packaging, a distinct filling time and an additional cleaning operation before the next production run can begin.
Without prior simulation, the company might introduce the new reference only to discover later that the format changeover takes longer than expected, that the packaging area lacks sufficient capacity, or that the new sequence generates waiting times in other parts of the line.
With a virtual twin, the manufacturer could incorporate the new reference into the model and test different alternatives:
The result of the simulation does not eliminate all uncertainties, but it allows the company to approach the real plant with a previously analysed proposal, reducing the number of physical tests required.
Although DELMIA plays a central role when discussing the virtual twin of operations, the model can be enriched with capabilities from other solutions within the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.
The virtual twin can thus span different stages of the lifecycle: from the formulation and design of the food product or its packaging to production planning and factory floor operations.
The main advantage of working within a common platform is data continuity. Changes made to the product, the process or demand forecasts can be analysed taking into account their impact on the rest of the system.
The value of a virtual twin does not lie solely in accurately representing a factory. Its utility is found in the questions it allows you to ask before taking action:
What will happen if demand increases? Can the line handle a new reference? At what point will the next bottleneck appear? How can the changeover time between batches be reduced? Is it really necessary to invest in another machine?
Simulation does not replace the expertise of production, engineering or quality managers. It complements it with an environment where hypotheses can be tested, consequences visualised and alternatives compared.
For an industry subjected to constant changes in products, formats and demand, this capability means moving from correcting problems once they appear to anticipating them before they even reach the factory floor.
At Principia, we help industrial companies leverage the capabilities of DELMIA and the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to model, simulate and optimise their production processes.
If you want to analyse how a virtual twin could be applied to a line, a factory or a new food production project, contact our team. We will study your needs and help you identify the most appropriate solutions to turn your real processes into scenarios that can be virtually analysed and optimised.
