Collect Data, Hope
Outdated- Sensors And Charts
What happened, not why
- “Passes”
Or run below limits to be safe
- Try It Live
Changes tested on the real line
- Trip Or Failure Rework
The limit shows up in production
- Repair
Downtime, parts, and lost output
Sensors and dashboards show what happened. They can't show why, or what will happen if you change a setting. Digital twin services create a physics-based model of your equipment or process. The model is tied to your operating data, so you can test changes, loads, and failures on it first.
Without that model, teams fall back on one of two habits. Some run equipment on the safe side and leave capacity unused. Others learn the limits the hard way: a trip, a failure, or a change that didn't work. Every one of those lessons costs downtime.
PPS engineers develop digital twins from FEA, CFD, and system models, alongside our engineering consulting services, multiphysics simulation services, and CAD design services. You get a model you can trust for decisions, not just a picture of your plant.
✓
Equipment run below capacity to stay safe
Nobody can prove how far it can go.
✓
Failures that arrive without warning
Data shows the trip, not the cause, so nobody can predict equipment failure before it happens.
✓
Process changes tried live on the line
Every trial risks product and downtime.
✓
Sensor data nobody turns into decisions
Dashboards fill up while questions stay open.
✓
Aging equipment with unknown remaining life
Repair or replace becomes a guess.
✓
Upgrades sized without a model
New equipment may not fix the real limit.
Cost you carry
Decision it lets you make
Result
Unit cost
Material & weight
Decision
Model the real limits of your equipment, then run closer to them with margins you can document.
→
Result
More output from the equipment you already own.
Development
Prototypes & testing
Decision
Test process and setting changes on the model first, then confirm them on the real equipment.
→
Result
Fewer trial runs and less scrap.
Tooling
Rework & redesign
Decision
Find the failure mode in the model and fix the design or operation before it causes downtime.
→
Result
Fewer unplanned stops and repairs.
After launch
Field failures & warranty
Decision
Track remaining life against real loads, and plan repairs and upgrades on evidence.
→
Result
Maintenance spend you can defend in review.
01
A design that meets your loads at the lowest total cost, delivered as production-ready CAD and drawings
02
FEA results and margins you review and approve at each gate, before anything moves to prototyping.
03
You own the IP by default, set in your contract.
04
If we missed it in our QC, we fix it. If your supplier can't make the part within three years, or supply dries up, we fix that too.
You send
What we need to start
CAD, native or STEP
Loads and operating conditions, or how the part is used
Material specs or test data, if you have it
Targets: weight, cost, life, or code
Failure history, if a part already failed
→
You get
What you hold at the end
The optimized design: CAD and drawings ready for production
Models and results you reviewed and approved
Documented margins or code compliance
Test correlation, when testing is in scope: a partner lab or yours
A roadmap for what comes next, and a team that stays with you
We price to the value we deliver, not the hours we log. If the value isn't there for you, we'll say so in the assessment.
Every trial run on the real line costs output. Get a free roadmap.
Get Your Free RoadmapTurbines, boilers, and plant support equipment modeled to run closer to limits with documented margin.
Fewer forced outages.
Applications
Turbines
Boilers
Remaining Life
Capacity
Crushers, screens, and haul equipment modeled against real duty to plan repairs before the failures do.
Stop costly downtime.
Applications
Crushers
Screens
Fatigue
Duty Cycles
Kilns, mills, and coolers modeled with process data so changes are tested before they reach the plant.
Fewer surprise stops.
Applications
Kilns
Mills
Coolers
Process Data
Cooling and power systems modeled so capacity changes and failures are tested before they ever go live.
Run cool at full load.
Applications
Cooling
Capacity
Failover
Airflow
FEA, CFD, CAD, DFMA, and testing under one roof. Engineering is a team sport, and you get the whole team.
One team, every skill.
Under One Roof
FEA
CFD
CAD
DFMA
Testing
Veteran-owned SDVOSB status gives defense and federal buyers a set-aside path to proven engineering.
Verify our SDVOSB status.
Credentials
SDVOSB
VOSB
CAGE 8ZK73
NAICS 541330
Missed something in our QC? We fix it. Supplier can't make the part within three years? We fix that too.
Support for the long run.
We Fix
Our QC Misses
Supplier Gaps
Supply Chain
We price to the value we deliver, not hours logged. You buy a design that works, not more iterations.
Pay for the result only.
Collections
Gold
Platinum
Diamond
What is a digital twin, and do I need one?
A digital twin is a model of your equipment or process that behaves like the real thing. Our digital twin services create twins from physics, calibrated to your operating data. They answer questions. How far can a machine be pushed? What will a change do? How much life is left? A dashboard shows what happened, not why, and not what happens next. A National Academies report, Foundational Research Gaps and Future Directions for Digital Twins, describes a twin as a model updated through two-way data flows. It also stresses verification, validation, and uncertainty checks. A twin nobody has checked can mislead you faster than no twin at all.
You need one when those questions cost you money. Watch for equipment run below capacity to stay safe, failures that arrive without warning, or changes tested live on the line. Many twins start small, on one critical machine, and grow once they prove their value. If simple monitoring answers your question, we say so in the free assessment. That keeps your spend on the questions that matter.
What data does a digital twin need?
Our digital twin services start with three things. First, the geometry: CAD or drawings of the equipment. Second, operating data: sensor history, setpoints, and records of trips or failures. Third, a clear question the twin must answer. Maintenance records add the history of what was repaired. Data quality matters more than quantity. A year of reliable load and temperature data is worth more than a decade of unlabeled readings. That is where much industry 4.0 consulting stalls. NIST's MEP program lists sensors, data analytics, and modeling and simulation as parts of Industry 4.0. Sensors alone, without a model, rarely answer the engineering question.
If data is missing, the free assessment tells you what to add and where, often a few sensors in the right places. We model the physics in FEA, CFD, or system models and calibrate them against your history. Then we document how well the model matches the data. You decide when it is trusted enough to use. For power plants, our power generation engineering work uses the same approach.
What do you need from us to start?
To start digital twin services with PPS, send what you have, in any format you use. That usually means CAD or drawings of the equipment, sensor history, setpoints, and event logs. Add maintenance records, your targets, and the questions the twin must answer. Missing data is the most common reason engineering projects stall. A model built on guessed inputs gives a guessed answer, and the guess shows up later as bad decisions. That is why we don't start the work until every data set is in. For gaps in material data, NIST material measurement data is a good first stop for test values.
Once your data is in, the first step is a free assessment of your project scope and data. We confirm what the work can and can't answer, and tell you what is still missing. Then we send a roadmap proposal with scope, targets, and approval gates. Every project is scoped on its own, so the roadmap sets the schedule, not a stock promise. NDAs are available before you share files.
Who owns the design and the models?
You own the IP from your digital twin services project by default, as set in your contract. That covers the models, the calibration, and the results. Some firms keep the models or license them back to you for a fee, so every later change sends you back to them. That locks your plant to one vendor. It also makes reviews harder, because your team can't open the evidence behind each decision. Export rules add real risk. On defense work, the State Department's ITAR rules control who may see technical data, and loose file handling can break them. Your data deserves the same care as your equipment.
At delivery you receive the model files, the inputs, the calibration record, and the documented results. Your engineers can check the work, rerun a case, or hand the package to another team. We sign mutual NDAs before any data is shared. Your files stay in controlled project folders. If export-control or customer data rules apply, we set up data handling to match. Nothing is held back.
What happens if the twin doesn't match the real equipment?
If the twin and the real equipment disagree, we find out why and fix the model with you. With digital twin services from PPS, you approve the data at each gate. So each field result is checked against predictions you have already seen, not a black box. Hard engineering carries unknowns on any project. Real operating conditions, material lots, and wear never match a model perfectly, however careful the work. A mismatch is data, not a failure: it shows which assumption was wrong and why. NASA's standard for models and simulations treats verification and validation as part of judging whether a model can be trusted.
When testing is in scope, we plan it to confirm the predictions that matter most to you. Then we correlate the model to the results. If the miss was ours, because something slipped through our QC review, we fix it. If the data uncovers a condition nobody knew about, we scope the change with you and update the roadmap. Either way, you get a clear path forward.
How are digital twin services priced?
We price digital twin services by the value of the result, not by the hour. Hourly billing rewards extra iterations, and you pay for each one. So the cheapest quote often becomes the most expensive project once rework, delays, and field failures show up. Federal buyers flag the same risk. FAR 16.601 says a time-and-materials contract gives the contractor no positive profit incentive for cost control or labor efficiency. Our incentive runs the other way: get the model right the first time. We engage by fit, not as a ladder. Gold is never required, and some clients start at Platinum or Diamond.
Gold (from $35K): you have one project and need help with it. Platinum (from $15K/mo): you have recurring work at a steady rhythm. Diamond (from $800K/yr): you have a long development program, often multi-year. These are starting points, not quotes; your roadmap sets the price. We price to the value we deliver, not the hours we log. If the value isn't there for you, we'll say so in the assessment.