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Aerospace & Defense PLM Action Group Shares Digital Twin Use Cases

By benchmarking use cases using commercially available software and services, the team has provided a roadmap for organizations.

Aerospace & Defense PLM Action Group Shares Digital Twin Use Cases
Source: CIMdata
The use case project was powered by a high level of cross-industry collaboration. Image courtesy: CIMdata

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By DE Editors  

March 30, 2026

The CIMdata-administered Aerospace & Defense PLM Action Group (AD PAG) is sharing a catalog of 80 use cases for digital twin-digital thread (DTW-DTH). This document marks the culmination of a benchmarking project designed to bridge the gap between theoretical potential and industry reality, CIMdata reports.

An AD PAG-sponsored project team undertook the challenge of advancing the industry’s understanding of current DTW-DTH capabilities. By benchmarking use cases using commercially available software and services, the team has provided a roadmap for organizations looking to scale their digital maturity. They are now releasing the use cases assembled to support the benchmark.

A Collaborative Effort

The project was powered by a high level of cross-industry collaboration, featuring domain experts from major constituents in the PLM community:

  • Industry Experts: Specialists from AD PAG member companies.
  • Strategic Partners: Four industry organizations.
  • Solution Providers: Seven top-tier providers who executed the benchmarks.

To ensure the results were grounded in real-world applications, the team followed a structured, collaborative approach to select and refine scenarios. This process resulted in the demonstration of 28 use cases from an assembled catalog of 80 use cases spanning multiple domains across all stages of the product lifecycle.

Reference Resource

The newly released document serves as an archive of the benchmark project's use case inventory. It captures:

  • The initial set of use cases, drafted by the AD PAG DTW-DTH project team.
  • Contributed use cases from the partnering organizations’ internal libraries.
  • Refined use cases demonstrated by participating solution providers.

"This document is a reference resource that captures all use cases created and assembled in the course of the benchmark project," says James Roche, vice president, Aerospace & Defense Practice Director at CIMdata, who managed the benchmark execution. "It provides the industry with a clear and consistent view of the current practical value potential of digital twin-digital thread investment as envisioned by leading practitioners in the field."

The partnering industry organizations were AIAA, OMG, prostep ivip, and SAE International. The participating solution providers were Ansys (part of Synopsys), Capgemini, Cortona3D, eQ Technologic, Hexagon, Infosys, and Prostep AG.

Those interested in learning more may download the Use Case Catalog and the Benchmark Report of Findings for free at https://www.cimdata.com/en/aerospace-and-defense/publications/digitaltwin-digitalthread.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.

 

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CIMdata Consulting provides a comprehensive set of unbiased and independent strategic management consulting services. CIMdata offers guidance and support to industrial organizations and PLM solution providers. We maintain a strategic…

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Related Topics

Digital Thread   PLM   Digital Twin   News   Aerospace & Defense PLM Action Group   CIMdata   Digital Twins   Product Lifecycle Management PLM   All topics
 

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