The Thread Is Not the Twin: A Doctrinal Account of Life-Cycle Information Continuity in Engineering Data Systems
Keywords:
Asset Administration Shell, Digital Thread, Digital Twins, Engineering Data Pipelines, Life-Cycle ContinuityAbstract
The term "digital twins" has become synonymous in the field of engineering informatics. However, there are many other components involved in the overall lifecycle of an asset including the quiet workhorse - the digital thread. The digital thread represents the communications framework that should provide connectivity of an asset’s data throughout its lifecycle (from definition through manufacture, operation, maintenance, and eventual disposal). This paper provides a theoretical representation of this digital thread within the context of engineering informatics. The authors analyse aerospace and manufacturing thread statements against the life-cycle axis of RAMI 4.0, STEP and Asset Administration Shell practice, and enterprise-control interfaces as mutually constraining instruments. The author claims that local faithfulness of a twin can occur even when the thread is broken; however, synchronisation with a live asset does not equate to maintaining continuity among views. Three tests follow: identifier persistence, view-to-view translatability, and decision replay. The author proposes a Thread Continuity Stack as an overlay and not as a new architecture. The reconstruction of this paper was done theoretically, which enables future empirical studies to determine if a reported twin, pipeline, or operational model continues to carry a thread.
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