Digital twins for production and factory planning
Optimize your factory planning and machine replacements with centimeter-precise 3D inventory data. We digitize factory halls and logistical processes.
Our specialization: Digital twins for production and factory planning for a future-proof optimization of your processes.
Advantages for industrial practice
Error-free factory planning
Virtual collision checks before machine assembly prevent unpleasant surprises during conversion.
Efficient asset tracking
Link machine data, maintenance intervals, and plans directly in the virtual twin.
Global cooperation
Hold cross-location planning meetings directly in the browser - without travel time.
Typical Use Cases
Layout optimization & logistics
Simulate material flows and check routes for forklifts and AGVs directly in the digital factory model.
Machine retrofit & replacement
Centimeter-precise planning of transport routes and installation spaces for new machines in tightly packed halls.
Digital commissioning
Train operators and maintenance technicians virtually on the system before it is physically set up.
Precise inventory data collection for future-proof industry
Conversions or expansions in ongoing production operations require meticulous planning. Traditional hand measurements are time-consuming, incomplete, and prone to errors. Our 3D laser scanners capture machinery, hall constructions, and supply lines in the shortest possible time. You receive a registered point cloud and photorealistic 3D tours, on the basis of which your designers can plan reliably.
Turnkey Integration
We support you from concept creation to on-site data capture and the final API interface to your management systems.
Matching services for your industry:
We evaluate your specific requirements and create an individual digitization concept for your company.
Start inquirySmart Factory Engineering: Digital factory planning through high-precision 3D laser scanning
In globalized industry and production, extremely short product life cycles and the pressure for automation (Industry 4.0) dictate the pace. Production lines must be constantly adapted, machine parks expanded, or intralogistics processes restructured. However, the limiting factor in these factory conversions is often the missing or outdated inventory documentation (as-built). Anyone who plans a new production line worth millions in a tightly packed existing hall based on outdated 2D plans risks fatal installation collisions and massive production losses. FotoEstate counters this risk with industrial 3D laser scanning (LiDAR) and the creation of millimeter-precise digital twins. We convert physical workshops into intelligent, navigable 3D data models (scan-to-CAD / scan-to-BIM). This enables designers and factory planners to carry out 100% reliable digital layout planning and ensures that complex retrofit projects run smoothly.
1. Trouble-free inventory recording during ongoing operations
Every minute of plant downtime costs production companies money. Conventional surveying methods disrupt operations, require aerial lifts, and still only provide selective results. Our survey teams use the latest terrestrial and mobile 3D laser scanners (e.g., NavVis VLX, Faro Focus). These high-performance sensors capture the entire factory geometry—including complex pipelines, cable routes, ventilation shafts, and steel structures—with millions of measurement points per second. This process is completely contactless and, crucially, can be done while production continues at full capacity. Even in complex systems or under difficult lighting conditions, a complete, three-dimensional point cloud of the entire production facility is generated.
2. Scan-to-CAD and virtual collision detection (clash detection)
The generated 3D point cloud is converted into native CAD or BIM models in the engineering process through reverse engineering. If you are planning to replace an old milling machine or integrate new conveyor technology, your designers can directly insert the CAD data of the new machine (e.g., from SolidWorks or Siemens NX) into the digital twin of the existing hall. We use virtual collision tests (clash detection) to simulate the physical delivery route (transport route through the hall) and check to the millimeter whether the new system would collide with existing supports or overhead cranes. Errors are corrected on the monitor before expensive equipment is obstructed on the construction site.
3. Layout optimization and intralogistics simulation
Lean management and the optimization of material flow are essential for competitiveness. The digital factory twin provides the ideal environment for simulating material flows. Production managers can virtually rearrange workstations in the 3D model, redefine buffer zones, and analyze the routes for automated guided vehicles (AGVs) or forklifts. By connecting the room database with intralogistics simulation software, bottlenecks can be identified and cycle times optimized without needing to intervene in physical operations.
4. Global shop floor management & collaboration
The digital twin solves a massive communication problem for internationally operating corporations. If the engineering team is based in Germany but the production facility is in Asia or the USA, inspections used to result in enormous travel costs and loss of time. With our web-based 3D viewers, we make the factory accessible via browser from anywhere in the world. Interdisciplinary teams can meet on the digital shop floor, set markers (POIs), take dimensions directly in the image and discuss conversion concepts. This significantly accelerates decision-making (time-to-market) and reduces OPEX costs (travel costs).
5. Integration of IoT and PLM systems (Product Lifecycle Management)
A factory is a dynamic ecosystem. We don't just leave it with static 3D models, but rather integrate them into your enterprise IT. Through interfaces to PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) or ERP systems (such as SAP EAM), the 3D objects in the twin are enriched with live machine data. Maintenance manuals, test reports, or live OEE numbers (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) can be accessed by clicking on the corresponding component in the digital twin. This symbiosis of spatial data and machine data forms the ultimate basis for predictive maintenance and true smart factory processes.
What our partners say
"Since I started using Fotoestate's pictures for my listings, I've had twice as many inquiries for my holiday apartments."
"Professional, straightforward, and outstanding quality. The 360-degree tours are a game changer for our marketing."
"We book Fotoestate for all our premium properties. The quality is consistently excellent."
"Good value for money. The photographer was very friendly and gave great tips on preparing the rooms."
"My work only becomes truly visible through Fotoestate's fantastic pictures. Great collaboration!"
"The HDR shots bring light into the rooms even in bad weather. Very impressive."
"Since I started using Fotoestate's pictures for my listings, I've had twice as many inquiries for my holiday apartments."
"Professional, straightforward, and outstanding quality. The 360-degree tours are a game changer for our marketing."
"We book Fotoestate for all our premium properties. The quality is consistently excellent."
"Good value for money. The photographer was very friendly and gave great tips on preparing the rooms."
"My work only becomes truly visible through Fotoestate's fantastic pictures. Great collaboration!"
"The HDR shots bring light into the rooms even in bad weather. Very impressive."
Ready for the future of your industry?
Get non-binding advice from our experts and secure your digital advantage.