SPX FLOW, a global fluid-technology provider, has partnered with Siemens to roll out a new digital twin prototype for an autonomous mixing tank at the Manufacturing x Digital (MxD) centre in Chicago.
The system integrates SPX FLOW’s hardware — mixers, valves and pumps — with Siemens’s IoT and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling, connected via 5G infrastructure and structured using software-defined modular production (Module-Type Package, or MTP) principles.
The digital twin acts as a virtual replica of the physical mixing tank, enabling engineers to test and optimise fluid handling, process flow and mixing behaviour before physically building or deploying the equipment.
This approach promises reduced design risk, faster iteration and improved operational efficiency.
SPX FLOW and Siemens claim that with real-time data, virtual simulation, and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) navigating the floor, throughput can be validated and inefficiencies spotted earlier.
Industry analysts view this as part of a broader trend: combining digital twin, AI and 5G is becoming a differentiating factor in fluid handling, especially for sectors like chemicals, food and beverage and battery production.
Earlier spatial constraints or unpredictable mixing‐variables that required physical prototyping are increasingly handled virtually, helping reduce costs.
SPX FLOW and Siemens deploy digital twin and AI-driven mixing tank at MxD
