Revolutionising Factory Redesign: Hexagon Unveils Rapid Digital Twin Service

Revolutionising Factory Redesign: Hexagon Unveils Rapid Digital Twin Service

(IN BRIEF) Hexagon has launched a groundbreaking Digital Factory solution offered as a service, enabling rapid factory digitisation through highly accurate laser scanning technology. The service, which reduces scan times from weeks to hours, provides manufacturers with immediate access to detailed 3D digital replicas of their facilities. These replicas empower companies to simulate various scenarios, such as production increases, new machinery installation, and space optimisation. The service is scalable for both single facilities and multiple sites, offering cloud-based collaboration workflows that significantly cut planning time, reduce the frequency of site visits, and lower costs.

(PRESS RELEASE) HANNOVER, 2-Apr-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — Hexagon teams worldwide are set to revolutionise factory digitisation by employing advanced, millimetre-accurate laser scanning technology to capture entire facilities in mere hours—a process that traditionally took weeks. By providing swift access to intuitive 3D digital replicas of factories, manufacturers can easily simulate various scenarios, such as boosting production, integrating new machinery, or optimising space utilization. This highly scalable service is designed for both individual facilities and multiple plants, utilising cloud-based collaboration workflows that accelerate planning by four times, reduce the need for on-site visits by 70%, and cut costs by 23%.

Based in Hannover, Germany, and announced on 1 April 2025, Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division is accelerating factory growth, redesign, and construction. The global roll-out of its pioneering Digital Factory solution as an “as-a-service” offering aims to enhance production, site efficiency, and operational flexibility.

Major automotive and aerospace manufacturers around the globe are already leveraging Hexagon’s Digital Factory solutions to create detailed maps and models of decades-old brownfield sites. These models are critical as companies prepare for increased production or the launch of new product lines in highly competitive markets facing rapid change. With the new service, manufacturers gain straightforward access to the detailed, up-to-date information necessary for remodelling assembly workflows, increasing automation, installing state-of-the-art equipment, and maintaining agility to outpace competitors.

The service deploys a specialised team of scanning experts to conduct large-scale 3D surveys of expansive factory floors, covering thousands of square metres in a few hours. This process encompasses identifying client needs, defining workflows, collecting precise data, and delivering BIM models along with tailored services that unlock the full potential of the factory data. All collected data is fully interoperable and can be used to develop immersive 3D models through Hexagon’s suite of solutions as well as other industry-standard applications.

Digital Factory as-a-service offers unmatched scalability, supporting both single locations and multiple global facilities. It provides manufacturers with rapid access to accurate visualisations that aid in planning new factories, monitoring production, or reconfiguring existing brownfield sites. These real-time insights allow companies to prepare for the introduction of new machinery or significant process changes, enabling them to confidently test flexible manufacturing models, zero tooling scenarios, and workflows incorporating robots, cobots, and autonomous guided vehicles—all while reducing risk during transitions.

Even without specialised expertise in BIM or 3D visualisation tools, staff can navigate a digital twin of their facility to visualise how new production cells or equipment will operate. This approach facilitates the identification of clearance issues, ensures proper equipment access, and highlights potential problems that might otherwise lead to disruptions and costly delays. Additionally, globally dispersed teams can collaborate remotely, speeding up decision-making processes and cutting travel expenses by 50% while reducing the necessity for site visits by up to 70%.

Nicolas Lachaud-Bandres, Vice President of Industry Solutions at Hexagon, explained, “The launch of Hexagon’s Digital Factory as-a-service marks a transformative moment in manufacturing. It empowers businesses around the world to achieve enhanced operational efficiency and agility through immediate access to millimetre-accurate, current 3D simulations of factories, regardless of whether they are established or in the planning stages. Many facilities lack up-to-date plans due to numerous adaptations over time, and as manufacturers look to scale production, space constraints become a critical issue. Our solution provides an exact digital replica of the available space, allowing companies to remodel without the need for repeated on-site assessments. These visualisations are straightforward for everyone involved, from operational teams to senior executives making strategic decisions.”

With this service, manufacturers will rapidly advance their digitalisation initiatives by linking assets and data to create comprehensive digital twins, laying the groundwork for the next generation of smart factories. The data can be securely stored in Hexagon’s cloud or on-premise, with open platforms and interoperable software supporting various roles across an organisation.

Hexagon is the global leader in digital reality solutions, combining sensor, software and autonomous technologies. We are putting data to work to boost efficiency, productivity, quality and safety across industrial, manufacturing, infrastructure, public sector, and mobility applications.

Our technologies are shaping production and people related ecosystems to become increasingly connected and autonomous – ensuring a scalable, sustainable future.

Hexagon (Nasdaq Stockholm: HEXA B) has approximately 24,500 employees in 50 countries and net sales of approximately 5.4bn EUR. Learn more at hexagon.com and follow us @HexagonAB.

Media Contact:

Robin Wolstenholme
Global Media Relations and Analyst Relations Manager
Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence Division
robin.wolstenholme@hexagon.com
+44(0)7407 642190

SOURCE: Hexagon