An Implementation of AR Enabled Digital Twins for 3-D Printing

The industries today are undergoing a major revolution that is driven by the availability of the right information, in the right place and at the right time. Internet of Things supported by various other emerging technologies forms the basis of a connected world by bridging the gaps between physical and digital environments. An often-used term for the digital representation of a physical asset is the digital twin. Digital twins enable seamless delivery of information in an abstracted manner, thereby making it easier for the end-user to make crucial decisions within a short period. This paper discusses the implementation of a digital twin of a desktop 3-D printer that displays the parameters and related alerts of the 3-D printer in real-time and allows one to control the essential printer functions using a light-weight AR (Augmented Reality) model that supports the two-way exchange of information.