Digital thread

Digital thread, also known as digital chain, is defined as “the use of digital tools and representations for design, evaluation, and life cycle management.”. It is a data-driven architecture that links data gathered during a <a href="/facts/Product_lifecycle/G3U6gtBv">Product lifecycle</a> from all involved and distributed manufacturing systems. This data can come from any part of <a href="/facts/Product_lifecycle/G3U6gtBv">product's lifecycle</a>, its transportation, or its <a href="/facts/Supply_chain/cApUyx1h">supply chain</a>. Digital thread "enables the collection, transmission, and sharing of data and information between systems across the product lifecycle" to enable real-time decision making, gather data, and iterate on the product.
The term 'digital thread' was first used in the Global Horizons 2013 report by the USAF Global Science and Technology Vision Task Force. Digital thread was further refined in 2018 by Singh and Willcox at MIT in their paper entitled "Engineering with a Digital Thread". In this academic paper the term digital thread is defined as "a data-driven architecture that links together information generated from across the product lifecycle and is envisioned to be the primary or authoritative data and communication platform for a company’s products at any instance of time."
Digital thread enables "data to be integrated into one platform, allowing seamless use of and ease of access to all data".

Digital thread open-in-new

Digital thread