One of the newest Aras Innovator applications is Digital Twin Core (DTC). DTC allows for tracking of parts in the field, and it will serve as the basis of our push to realize a fully Digital Thread.
How it works
The DTC application adds one very important new ItemType: the Physical Part. Physical parts are created from a released engineering part and have additional properties related to its life in the field. In addition to that, they contain a link back to the released engineering part they were created from. This allows for visibility into what exactly is in the field.
This is made even stronger by the ability to string Physical Parts together and create a Physical Part Bill of Materials (BOM). Utilizing the BOM allows you to keep track of part replacements and adjustments made to your field units. Additionally, a Physical Part’s work history is saved, allowing you to see exactly where the part has been utilized in the past and the work done to it.
Installation
As DTC is one of our newer applications, it will only work with Aras Innovator version 12 service pack 7 or greater. To install DTC, you’ll need Aras Update, which can be installed here.
Once installed, follow these steps:
Open Aras Update and download DTC 12.0 R1 from the list of applications
Once you’ve downloaded the package, click install to begin the process.
When prompted, chose detailed logging
On the final screen, provide the necessary instance information like the screenshot below.
If your installation fails, it could be for a few reasons. One of the most common is accidentally pointing to the wrong code tree folder. Another common issue when installing DTC is not having a compatible version of PE installed. Double check to make sure you have the necessary components installed prior to running the DTC installer. If you are still having issues or have any questions, you can post a question to our forums!
Once the installation is complete you can open Aras Innovator to see the new application. There should be a new entry in the TOC called Assets which has one ItemType inside: Physical Parts. Now that it’s installed, you can create a physical parts from any engineering part which is marked as serialized.
Conclusion
There are some very exciting updates coming down the line for this application, but they all start here. Let us know if your company is utilizing DTC! If you have any issues with your installation you can reach out on the forums or leave a comment under this blog!