In the context of manufacturing, a “digital thread” refers to the use of data and analytics to create a centralized source of truth and provide an integrated view of the entire product lifecycle from design to final production. In today’s digital world, CAD models are at the center of the design and manufacturing process, and data is collected across the entire lifecycle from a variety of sources (e.g., CAD, FEA, CFD) and the factory floor (e.g., CAM, IoT). At SyBridge Technologies, we connect all of your data across the entire lifecycle, from product requirements to production quality. In the design phases, we deliver valuable insights and data-driven guidance informed by the whole lifecycle to create better, more capable products.

The connective nature of the digital thread creates opportunities for manufacturers to gain insights leading to greater efficiencies and higher product quality. For example, using inspection data to inform CAD models; comparing data from production runs to mold flow analysis; or connecting Design for Manufacturability (DFM) checks to factory quality data. This allows for the creation of digital twins and machine learning models that learn from existing sources of data to predict and identify efficiencies across the entire process.