Partial Twin – Pragmatic Digital Twin Adoption for SMEs

This a secondary publication from 2025 of an original article published in 2025. With the help of digital twins, processes can be simulated and tested in a digital environment prior to conducting real-world tests, which often incur significant costs and use of resources. However, developing digital twins frequently entails complex, customized, and costly implementations, making it an impractical option for many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This paper proposes the idea for an affordable and easy-to-implement version of the digital twin, particularly tailored for manufacturing sectors, termed the “Partial Twin”. The Partial Twin serves as a digital counterpart to a production site or its components, primarily based on numerical data. It aims to strike a balance between simplicity and necessary complexity, ensuring efficient representation and control options while lowering entry barriers. Designed for adaptability, it enables SMEs to incrementally implement digital capabilities, focusing on essential functionalities such as dynamic production planning and optimization. This paper validates the concept through a literature review, explores potential implementation strategies, and outlines the characteristics of the Partial Twin.