Digital twins: build the factory twice, run it better once
Digital twin manufacturing is the practice of creating detailed virtual representations of factories, machines, and workflows so teams can design, test, and refine production changes in a simulated environment before modifying the physical plant. Instead of treating a factory as a fixed asset that changes slowly, digital twin platforms turn it into a living model that engineers, operators, and managers can collectively experiment with, making factory simulation platforms as important as the machines themselves.
The core shift is simple: manufacturers no longer have to disrupt live production to see how a new line, layout, or procedure will behave. Eclipse Automation’s RealitySync gives teams a way to walk a future factory before any steel is set, stepping through immersive environments powered by Apple Vision Pro and guided by Eclipse experts. Myrex IRIS, meanwhile, rebuilds each asset as a high-definition 3D model linked to the procedures, drawings, and “tribal knowledge” that were previously scattered across systems and folders. Together, they point toward an era where virtual factory design and production asset modeling are the default starting points, not side projects.
RealitySync: factory simulation platform for decisions, not demos
Most manufacturers still sign off on multimillion-euro automation projects using drawings and static layouts, even as factory automation becomes more complex and connected. That is no longer good enough. Eclipse RealitySync is best understood as a factory simulation platform built to replace guesswork with shared experience. It allows manufacturers to “step into their future factory before it’s built” and walk production lines, explore workflows in context, and collaborate across teams in an interactive way.
According to Eclipse Automation CEO Steve Mai, “The way manufacturers evaluate automation hasn’t kept pace with the real-world complexity of modern production”. RealitySync addresses this by pulling people, project data, and the physical system into one immersive environment where engineering, operations, finance, and leadership can work with automation systems before deployment. The payoff is pragmatic: expose value before you buy, find flaws when they are still cheap to fix, and scale production with more flexibility. This is digital twin manufacturing as a boardroom tool, not just an engineering toy.
Myrex IRIS: production asset modeling at the machine’s front door
If RealitySync is about virtual factory design at the system level, Myrex IRIS tackles the mess where it hurts most: at the individual machine. In many plants, critical procedures, drawings, and tacit knowledge sit in many different places and formats, which makes it hard for both new and experienced workers to reach the right information when they need it. Myrex’s bet is that this fragmentation is not a training problem; it is an interface problem.
IRIS turns each asset into a visual, interactive interface for everything teams need to run and service it. Using a proprietary scanning process, Myrex captures each piece of equipment in high definition and converts it into a navigable 3D model. Key locations on that model—stations, components, access points, safety zones—are tagged with videos, PDFs, images, step-by-step instructions, and on-the-job notes. The result is production asset modeling that operators and technicians can walk up to, tap, and immediately see how to run, care for, and fix a machine, leading to faster training, more consistent repairs, reduced mean time to repair, and less downtime across the board.
From pre-deployment validation to day-one performance
The real value of digital twin manufacturing is not the 3D graphics; it is the ability to validate changes before they hit the floor. RealitySync lets cross-functional teams align earlier, identify issues sooner, and evaluate automation decisions with greater confidence by working with automation systems before deployment. That is risk reduction in its most tangible form: fewer unpleasant surprises during commissioning and a smoother ramp-up for new lines.
IRIS attacks downtime from the other side of the lifecycle. By using high-definition 3D models of production assets as the primary interface for training and maintenance, it helps operators and technicians train faster, perform more consistent repairs, and reduce mean time to repair on critical equipment. When every technician can walk up to a machine and immediately see how to run it, care for it, and fix it, the factory gains both availability and confidence. Taken together, virtual factory design up front and asset-centered digital twins on the floor form a closed loop: you experiment before deployment, then ensure the real system behaves as intended from day one.
Why manufacturers should design in pixels before pouring concrete
These launches are a clear signal: designing factories on paper while running them as black boxes is becoming indefensible. Eclipse RealitySync and Myrex IRIS show two sides of the same shift. One invites teams into a simulated future factory to evaluate and de-risk automation; the other turns every real machine into an interactive, asset-centered knowledge hub. Both reduce risk and downtime not by adding more dashboards, but by changing how people interact with systems.
Manufacturers that treat digital twins and factory simulation platforms as optional add-ons will keep paying for design errors and training gaps in lost production time. Those that move design work into immersive, shared virtual spaces and put production asset modeling at the heart of operations will make fewer blind bets, ramp lines faster, and maintain equipment more consistently. The next competitive divide will not be between automated and manual plants; it will be between factories that exist only in steel and those that are built, tested, and refined in pixels first.
