Rimini (IT), November 7, 2024 – GREEN-LOOP is a European project that enhances the manufacturing industry by refining bio-based materials and optimising production processes to offer solutions compliant with the European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). Among the key players in the project is the Italian company Mixcycling, which transforms agricultural by-products into bio-based materials ideal for various applications, focusing on sustainable packaging. Another project partner, Guala Closures in Breganze (Vicenza, Italy), is actively involved in designing new products and testing Mixcycling’s bioplastics for bottle closures for spirits that comply with European regulations (EC 1935/2004 and 10/2011), ensuring safety for contact with food, beverages, and pharmaceuticals.

As part of the GREEN-LOOP project, a new bio-based composite for injection moulding was developed and used to create initial prototypes of screw caps and oil dispensers. Additionally, an innovative microwave-assisted production process helps reduce energy consumption and improve material properties. New bio-based thermoplastics incorporating agricultural residues as fillers also show great potential for packaging. These advancements were presented by the project’s dissemination leader, NSBproject, in the paper “GREEN-LOOP: Sustainable Bio-based Materials and Circular Economy Solutions” during the Ecomondo 2024 conference in Rimini on November 5, 2024.

Solutions for Packaging Companies Compliant with the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR)

The European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, approved on April 24, 2024, aims to promote the circular economy by reducing the environmental impact of packaging and waste. The main goals include reducing waste volumes by optimising use of materials and designs that avoid excessive packaging; promoting reuse with long-term solutions; and increasing the share of recycled materials by improving collection systems and recycling processes. These principles are crucial for environmental sustainability and natural resource conservation, contributing to reduced pollution and carbon footprint. The PPWR introduces stricter requirements to reduce waste and enhance recyclability, creating new challenges and opportunities for companies. GREEN-LOOP demonstrates how bio-based materials can play a significant role in this transition, offering alternatives to traditional plastics within the PPWR framework.

With support from NSBproject, Mixcycling has developed materials for packaging and food closures. In collaboration with Guala Closures, bioplastic composites have been integrated into tamper-evident closures that match conventional plastics in terms of strength, hygiene, and flexibility. These closures, compliant with EC regulations, are safe for use with food, beverages, and medicines, reflecting GREEN-LOOP’s commitment to regulatory compliance and the development of sustainable materials. Technologies such as microwave-assisted injection moulding, which reduces energy consumption by up to 30%, pave the way for sustainable solutions that meet the standards of fossil-based plastics. Collaboration with industrial partners showcases the feasibility of integrating bio-based materials across various sectors, from food to cosmetic packaging. The bio-based materials proposed in the GREEN-LOOP project could potentially replace recycled plastic content, either due to a lack of recycled material or for quality reasons. As stated in Art. 8 of the PPWR, within three years from the regulation’s entry into force, the European Commission will review the technological development status and environmental performance of bio-based plastic packaging, taking into account the sustainability criteria outlined in Article 29 of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and the Council. Based on this review, the Commission may propose legislation to:

a) establish sustainability requirements for bio-based raw materials in plastic packaging;
b) set targets to increase the use of bio-based raw materials in plastic packaging;
c) introduce the possibility of meeting the regulation’s objectives using bio-based plastic instead of post-consumer recycled content.

Conclusion

GREEN-LOOP will continue to develop solutions for bio-based industries by improving material formulations, optimising production processes, and conducting rigorous tests to ensure scalability and market readiness. For the packaging sector, the project’s outcomes will offer tangible solutions compliant with the new European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).

***

The GREEN-LOOP partners involved:

Guala Closures www.gualaclosures.com

Guala Closures offers high-quality, sustainable, and innovative closure solutions that ensure protection and convenience for end consumers while enhancing the value of brands. Guala Closures is a global leader in closures for the spirits, wine, beverages, oil, and condiments markets. With 35 production plants worldwide, the Group ensures proximity to its clients, offering tailored services and solutions. Guala Closures has over 5,000 employees.
Visit www.gualaclosures.com and follow the company page on LinkedIn.

MIXCYCLING www.mixcycling.com

Founded as a start-up in 2020 by brothers Gianni and Amerigo Tagliapietra, Mixcycling scaled up to become an industry player in 2023, earning international awards and recognition. It collaborates with major research centres and universities and participates in the GREEN-LOOP project funded by the European Commission, focusing on the research and development of high-performance, low-impact biopolymers (LCA – Life Cycle Assessment). Mixcycling’s technology is based on a patented process and proprietary technology that valorises organic waste and blends it with both bio-based and fossil-based materials, creating new raw materials for major industrial groups such as EssilorLuxottica, Stoelzle Glass Group, SCHID Spa, UniCredit StartLab, Adamo srl, Lavazza Group, Stilfibra srl, DeRoma Group, Selle Royal Group Spa, among others.

NSBproject www.nsbproject.com

NSBproject (NSB) supports large and medium-sized Italian enterprises in identifying, testing, and adopting innovative and enabling technologies, assisting with research, development, and technological innovation projects for products and processes. Leveraging a vast network of research entities and consortia across Europe and solid relationships with corporate partners and clients, NSB professionals contribute to the Italian and European innovation ecosystem with technological and financial scouting services. NSBproject is a partner in numerous Horizon Europe programme projects, serving as an Innovation Broker. Founded twenty years ago by professionals with expertise in technological innovation and extensive knowledge of national and European research and innovation funding mechanisms, CEO Fabrizio Riccomi, along with partners Andrea Jester and Rita Zanni, promotes and facilitates technology transfer, playing a key role in Italy’s economic system innovation, traditionally driven by foundations and universities. NSB is headquartered in Mantua, with offices in Veneto and Tuscany.

In the 3rd AIDEAS Newsletter, we are pleased to present our new YouTube video outlining the project's objectives, details of our second technical review, in which we showed demonstrations to the project officer and highlights from our plenary meeting at the Madeira Digital Transformation Week. The campaign to select participants for the Early Adopters Programme has been successfully completed, with many equipment manufacturing companies applying to benefit from using AI in their processes. We will also present the latest congresses in which we have participated, sharing the advances of the AIDEAS project, as well as handing out our dissemination material, such as the Magic Cube. Finally, we present the latest publications on AIDEAS initiatives published in scientific journals.

You can check the 3rd AIDEAS Newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/789acd97b7a2/aideas-newsletter3 

New YouTube video is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE26uiwxTu4 

Stay tuned to dive deeper into our journey and celebrate our continuous progress and success.

Our RECLAIM project has officially reached its end and was closed successfully. 

A big thank you to every team member for your hard work, dedication, and collaboration. This success is a result of our collective efforts, and I'm confident that the skills and camaraderie built during this project will launch us to new heights in the future.

After all, our journey doesn't end here. In fact, it's a transition to a new phase where we leverage the insights gained to foster circular economy in manufacturing.

We encourage you to check out the main outcomes here: RECLAIM - Refurbishment and re-manufacturing of large industrial equipment (reclaim-project.eu)

Feel free to reach out to us and connect, to build on the achievements in RECLAIM. 
 

With the growth and improvement of production automation in manufacturing, Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems must be safe, trusted, and secure, even when operating in dynamic, unstructured and unpredictable environments. In this regard, one of the STAR project goals is to research and make available new technologies to enable standard-based, secure, safe, reliable and trusted human-centric AI systems in manufacturing environments.

MARKET by STAR is the entry point where all the interested visitors can consult the information representing the results of the project at one place along with the broad range of additional resources and services related to trustworthy Artificial Intelligence in manufacturing.

Visit MARKET by STAR: https://www.market.star-ai.eu/  

STAR participated in The Manufacturing Partnership Day, which took place on the 26th of September 2023 in Brussels. The event co-organised by the European Factories of the Future Research Association (EFFRA), and Factories of the Future and Made in Europe projects brought together the Factories of the Future and Made in Europe community and showcased ongoing projects' work.  

It was a rich day full of stimulating presentations and exchanges, where participants had the possibility to learn more about Made in Europe and Factories of the Future projects and network with like-minded manufacturing innovation and research professionals.   

STAR showcased the state of play of the project with a presentation made by the project Technical manager Dr.John Soldatos (Netcompany-Intrasoft) and displayed its new 8-page brochure featuring the project's results and the STAR book at a stand in the event's exhibition. Visitors to the stand had the possibility to discuss with the STAR experts the latest project developments and the general state-of-the-art in the field of AI in manufacturing.

The STAR video shown at the event is available on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhNB5I6KYjw

More information about the event is available at https://effra.glueup.com/event/the-manufacturing-partnership-day-76855/

During an exciting week in Yokohama, Japan at the triennial IFAC World Congress 2023, STAR partners had the opportunity to present and discuss significant contributions of the project in addressing the pertinent issues of human-centric AI in manufacturing.

- How to assess human centricity of AI-driven industrial systems?
https://lnkd.in/dJUfmRu3
- How can robots in shared human-robot spaces anticipate human movement for safer and efficient co-existence?
https://lnkd.in/d7j7pFEt
- How can we involve the human in the AI loop during visual quality control and what this means for changing job profiles, shifting workers to more cognitively demanding tasks?
https://lnkd.in/dJQaFWCE

These are based on a collaborative work between our partners: the University of Groningen, the Jozef Stefan Institute, QLector, Thales, and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland.

The IFAC World Congress is the largest event in the field of control science and technology, held every three years. It offers the most up-to-date and complete view of control techniques, with the widest coverage of application fields, and is attended by a worldwide audience of scientists and engineers from academia and industry. This year's Congress took place on 9-14 July 2023 in Yokohama, Japan.

More info about the event is available at https://www.ifac2023.org/

Discover trusted Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions in Manufacturing Lines at MARKET by STAR (https://www.market.star-ai.eu).

Register to access all available content (Success Stories, Assets, Training, and External AI Resources):

1) Visit the Success Stories of three Pilots sites focused on different areas of production and research:

• PHILIPS (Netherlands): Human-cobot collaboration for robust quality inspections;
• DFKI (Germany): Human behaviour prediction and safe zone detection;
• IBER OLEFF (Portugal): Human-centred AI for agile manufacturing 4.0.

The Success Stories are Experiences in real-world scenarios. Each one was characterised according to Value Propositions and ICT Problems. In addition, more information is provided, such as where and how it happened. The Value Propositions and ICT Problems were mapped with the Technologies (Assets) developed in the Project, allowing to perceive which Assets were used in the solutions and which ICT Problems they helped to solve.

2) Discover the Assets that support the implementation of trusted AI solutions in production lines. The Assets address different dimensions and elements of trust, security and safety in the operation of Cyber Physical Production Systems (CPPS).

3) Explore the Training Resources, courses, and workshops in the AI domain, as well as External AI Resources and external platforms with AI resources.

During the Project, new content will be added and other evolved.

As the ConnectedFactories project has come to an end in November 2022, we are pleased to present you the final newsletter, where you can find information and resources about the latest events.

• Business and Legal Online Workshop
• AI Pathway Workshop
• Foresight Workshop
• Connected Factories Final Event

A crucial factor in innovation and collaborative work is an agreement on understandable and implementable standards.

On 20 July, you will learn about this in an exciting, free webinar organised by the European initiative ForeSEE and UNI. The main objective of the cluster is to create a roadmap for predictive maintenance, which may serve as a guideline for companies that want to adapt and adopt predictive maintenance solutions in the future.

Register now! Register here!

As part of the cluster, our H2020 project RECLAIM intends to demonstrate strategies and technologies that enable the re-use of industrial equipment in old, renewed and new factories alike. Learn more in our website and get in touch with us! RECLAIM - Refurbishment and re-manufacturing of large industrial equipment

Welcome to the 3rd edition of the COALA Newsletter. A key milestone has been reached with the release of the second prototype of the COALA main components. These trustworthy AI components with a voice-enabled Digital Intelligent Assistant as an interface have been integrated and will be evaluated within the coming months in the three business cases. This achievement was recently presented at the project‘s mid-term review, which took place  successfully in the beginning of May 2022.

This newsletter edition will highlight the implementation of one of COALA's AI components, Cognitive Advisor Service, within the DIVERSEY business case in order to support line operators and managers towards optimum configuration of the production line.

COALA partners have been active also in dissemination and community management activities. COALA has organised its first webinar on 20th of May 2022, where we introduced some benefits of application of Digital Intelligent Assistants in the quality testing of white good use case and showed a demo on the current prototype of the Augmented Manufacturing Analytics feature. A recording of the webinar is available here.

In the community and event sections of this newsletter, you will find some of the past and upcoming event highlights. We hope that you will find our newsletter interesting and useful. If you have suggestions for future topics this newsletter should cover, do not hesitate to contact us.

Enjoy reading our newsletter!

REGISTER: https://cutt.ly/ShareworkHRCImplementation

10.00 – 12.15h CEST

Human-Robot Collaboration is a key factor in the field of industrial robotics for the development of the factories of the future and advance towards the Industry 4.0 paradigm.

In this last training session of the Sharework project we will introduce some basic concepts of the implementation of Human-Robot Collaborative systems and the advantages of its wide deployment into the industry. In addition, four use cases implemented in four companies in the transport, capital goods and metal sector will be presented, highlighting the potential of collaborative robotics in operators’ ergonomics and wellbeing, as well as the benefits from the production side.

REGISTER: https://cutt.ly/ShareworkMotionPlanning 

20/06/2022

14.00 - 16:00 PM

Robot and human path planning is essential for the implementation of accurate, safe and effective Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) systems, making sure to avoid incidents in the workplace, as well as increase productivity and work quality thanks to the collaboration between workers and robots.

In this training session on motion planning in Human-Robot Collaboration of the Sharework project, we will review state-of-the-art approaches for robot planning and scheduling, and present advances in the field with great potential to contribute to a widespread uptake of high-payload collaborative industrial robots in assembly shopfloors. As part of the training activity, a hierarchical motion planning framework to plan and execute human-aware movements and research on human motion prediction applicable into robot motion planning will be presented.

REGISTRATION - https://www.tfaforms.com/4975826

AGENDA AND MORE INFORMATION - https://sharework-project.eu/events/sharework-training-activity-2-human-factors/

In recent years, manufacturing aimed at increasing flexibility while maintaining productivity for satisfying emerging market needs for higher product customization. Human Robot Collaboration (HRC) is a promising way of achieving this balance by combining the improvisation and dexterity of humans with robots’ tireless precision and repeatability.

However, collaborative robotics developments have focused primarily on the technology and, until recently, little research has been geared to understand the key human factors that need to be considered to enable successful implementation of industrial HRC.

This training session, the second of a series of training workshops organized by the Sharework project, will be focused on Human Factor approaches in collaborative robotics from several perspectives. Contents of this session respond to how to develop a more human-centered design for the factory of the future, including ergonomic and posture assessments, methodologies to ensure adaptability and acceptance of collaborative robotics solutions in the workplace, the use of Augmented Reality for operator training and technology for a seamless interaction between humans and cobots.

06/04/2022 - ONLINE - 14.00 - 16.45PM

Registration: https://www.tfaforms.com/4969763 

More information: https://sharework-project.eu/manufacturing-and-environment-perception-for-an-effective-human-robot-collaboration/

Autonomous and hybrid plants require a high level of automation and understanding of the processes within where collaborative robots have a high potential. The development of collaborative robotics as a research area is based on the study of computer vision, machine learning and artificial intelligence to provide robots with high vision skills and knowledge to interact safely and effectively in the workplace and assist humans in arduous or repetitive tasks.

In this training session, the first of a series of training workshops, several perception techniques to increase collaborative robots’ knowledge and skills to perceive, comprehend and reason about the surrounding environment will be presented. The concepts presented will include several technologies and methodologies to enhance the robot ability for the detection of the objects and humans in the environment, identify humans’ posture and activities and understand the human behavior or model desired motions for our robots.

During the session, showcasing basic concepts on methods to enrich collaborative robotics recognition and perception capabilities, Sharework researchers aim to contribute to training the next generation of Human-Robot Collaboration investigators and disseminating project advancements to the scientific and education community. The session content comprises basic concepts and techniques used to perform an environmental analysis and provide robots with the necessary intelligence to recognise their surroundings and act accordingly. The concepts presented are going to be exemplified with comprehensive case studies developed under the framework of the Sharework project.

• EU funded project introduces new Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods for improved quality in manufacturing
• The OPTIMAI project presents intelligent approach to zero-defect manufacturing through its breakthrough AI powered toolkit
• 16 partner organisations from 8 countries across Europe join forces to optimise production processes through a mix of AI, augmented reality, virtualisation and smart sensors

20th January 2022

Manufacturing industries are constantly looking for new ways to improve quality control for both manufactured products and manufacturing processes. The OPTIMAI project is spearheading innovation in this area. Introducing new technologies designed to reduce scrap, eliminate defects, maximise productivity and improve quality of shop floor processes, the project is set to make a tangible impact on European industry and environmental sustainability.

“We are effectively looking to create a new industry ecosystem. We are optimising production processes through a unique mix of Smart Instrumentation, Metrology, Artificial Intelligence, Virtualisation and Augmented Reality”, says OPTIMAI Project Coordinator, Dr. Nikolaos Dimitriou from the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH-ITI).

The three-year project, funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, is shaping the factories of the future thanks to its unique set of smart technology designed for the manufacturing arena.  OPTIMAI was launched in January 2021 and has just entered its second year.

The manufacturing industry has spent the last few decades in a continuous state of technological revolution with the progressive introduction of ICT, robotics, and automation technologies and most recently the introduction of digitalisation technologies on the shop floor. OPTIMAI is now revolutionising current industry practices further by bringing together and advancing several enabling technologies that strengthen the collaboration between humans and machines.

Dr. Dimitriou and his team have designed the OPTIMAI toolkit, which will initially be tested and validated in factories focusing on the manufacturing of lifts and antennas and on the assembly of microelectronics in Greece, Spain and the UK respectively. The highly adaptable solutions will then be applied in a wide range of industrial settings and brought to market across Europe.

“We aim to strike an optimal balance between fast, cheap and reliable production choices that have a significant impact on industrial competitiveness.”, Dr. Dimitriou explains. 

Core parts of the toolkit developed by contributing organisations include a decision support system that detects and issues early notifications of defects, a continuous production, monitoring and quality inspection system powered by smart sensors, an intelligent marketplace for recycling of scrap, digital twins for simulation and forecasting of industrial processes, and, of course, a comprehensive ethics and regulatory framework surrounding the technologies.

Feeding into the current transformative phase in the Industrial Revolution known as Industry 4.0., the project’s innovations go beyond the state of the art and pave the way for a smarter, digitalised European manufacturing domain.

Help us understand if and how you perform remanufacturing/refurbishment!

RECLAIM – RE-manufaCturing and Refurbishment LArge Industrial equipment (EU H2020) – is conducting a survey with machine / equipment / tools manufacturers and service providers to analyse the elements of greatest relevance in remanufacturing/refurbishment strategies for companies of the electromechanical sector.

Take a few minutes to fill in our questionnaire here.

The collected data will be aggregated and used for a public report on how to support RECLAIM strategies for refurbishment and remanufacturing that enable the reuse of industrial equipment in old, renewed and new factories alike, addressing also themes such as valuable materials and the interaction with services and after sales functions.

Should you have any questions, or wish a digital copy of the public report once available, do not hesitate to contact Lucrezia Quarato, Project Manager at RECLAIM project partner SCM group.

Thanks a lot in advance for your support!

Remanufacturing or second-life production implies using parts of discarded products in a new product with the same function. Remanufactured products guarantee the same quality like original products, as they are brought at least to original equipment manufacturer performance specification.

Refurbishment means restoring an old product and bringing it up to date, in order to maintain reliability or extend service life. In general, refurbished products are upgraded and brought back to specified quality standards or satisfactory working and/or cosmetic conditions and have to fulfil extensive testing. Occasionally, refurbishment is combined with technology upgrading by replacing outdated modules and parts with technologically superior ones.

Dear Reader,

After 15 months, COALA is close to reaching its third milestone. It will have a second prototype and its components will be ready for integration into the three industrial business cases. This issue will present COALA's solution and its underlying components, as well as the introduction of the textile business case. This case focusses on training and development of textile worker's AI competencies.

COALA partners have been active also in dissemination and community management activities. The next event co-organised by COALA is the 4th International Workshop on Key Enabling Technologies for Digital Factories (Ket4DF) in conjunction with CAiSE 2022, which will be held on 6 – 10 June 2022 in Leuven, Belgium. More detailed information on the paper submission date is available on the Ket4DF 2022 website. In the community and event sections of this newsletter, you will find some of the past and upcoming event highlights.

We hope that you will find our newsletter interesting and useful. If you have suggestions for future topics this newsletter should cover, do not hesitate to contact us.

Enjoy reading our newsletter!

Submission Deadline:  30 November 2021

IEEE Access invites manuscript submissions in the area of Metal Additive Manufacturing.   

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a main driver of the Industry 4.0 paradigm. While the additive manufacturing of plastics is common, metal additive manufacturing processes still face several research challenges. The high cost and unpredictable defects in final parts and products are preventing complete deployment and adoption of additive manufacturing in the metalworking industries. Several aspects need improvement, including robustness, stability, repeatability, speed and right-first-time manufacturing. Nevertheless, its potential to the production of structural parts is significant, from the medical to the aeronautics industry.

This Special Section in IEEE Access will bring together academia and industry to discuss technical challenges and recent results related to additive manufacturing. Theoretical, numerical and experimental development in this domain are welcome. The articles are expected to report original findings or innovative concepts featuring different topics related to metal additive manufacturing. Industry-related studies are welcome, especially the ones demonstrating advanced applications of metal additive manufacturing in challenging scenarios.

The topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Data interoperability
• Data analytics
• Digitalization and data security
• Topologic optimization
• Additive manufacturing building strategy
• Multi-physics process simulation and modeling
• Product engineering optimization
• Testing and characterization
• Zero defect manufacturing and process control
• Quality assurance
• From CAD design to real part production
• Advanced industry applications

We also highly recommend the submission of multimedia with each article as it significantly increases the visibility and downloads of articles.

Associate Editor:  Pedro Neto, University of Coimbra, Portugal

Guest Editors:

1. Mustafa Megahed, ESI Group, Germany
2. Matthew Gilbert, The University of Sheffield, UK
3. Kaixiang Peng, University of Science and Technology Beijing, China
4. Felix Vidal, AIMEN Technology Centre, Spain
5. Leroy Gardner, Imperial College London, UK
6. Xuemin Chen, Texas Southern University, USA
7. Stasha Lauria, Brunel University London, UK

 Relevant IEEE Access Special Sections:

1. Advanced Artificial Intelligence Technologies for Smart Manufacturing
2. Key Technologies for Smart Factory of Industry 4.0
3. Advances in Machine Learning and Cognitive Computing for Industry Applications

IEEE Access Editor-in-Chief:  Prof. Derek Abbott, University of Adelaide

Article submission: Contact Associate Editor and submit manuscript to:
http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ieee-access

 For inquiries regarding this Special Section, please contact: pedro.neto@dem.uc.pt.

On the 28th of September, the DENiM team will lead a virtual cross project collaboration involving four H2020 projects funded under the FoF-09-2020 programme (DENiM, EnerMan, Ecofact & ECO2MATION) as part of the sustainable places conference taking place between 28th Sept – Oct 1st in Rome (Physical & Virtually)

The virtual workshop will take place on the 28th Sept 15:30 CET, please attend to join the community and share your views and experience through interactive sessions to help industry define clear pathways to achieve energy efficient manufacturing. 

The workshop is free but registration is required, here is the invitation link, this will require you to create a profile on the conference platform (how to article here) 

AGENDA

• Introduction
• Project Overview & Challenge Perspective
  • DENiM
  • ENERMAN
  • ECOFACT
  • E2COMATION
• Interactive/Virtual White Boarding session
  • Review/capture synergies across projects (Miro activity)
  • Round table discussion on barriers, challenges and opportunities covering (Miro activity)
  • Pathway Setting: Rank opportunities/next steps as to where industry needs to go to continue to address the energy efficiency (Miro activity)

This video shows how the Integradde´s Digital Thread for Additive Manufacturing works step by step and how it has been validated in 4 Pilot Lines across Europe in real manufacturing conditions!

> Watch the Integradde´s video here!

Would you like to implement Additive Manufacturing in your production processes at no cost? Apply to Integradde´s Expression of Interest!

European SMEs and MidCaps willing to implement Additive Manufacturing in their production processes are called to participate in the Integradde´s Expression of Interest (EOI). The selected winners will access the expertise and services (valued in 20K/service) provided by Integradde´s Open Pilot Network AT NO COST!

Make sure to submit your application before September 30th: https://expression-of-interest-integradde.fundingbox.com/

Learn how to build a winning application: Join us on September 8th at 11:00 for the Integradde´s EOI Infoday!
We have some tips for you to help you build a winning application! Join us at the Integradde´s EOI Infoday that will take place on September 8th at 11:00 CEST where we will address some frequently asked questions about the process and useful guidelines to make an outstanding application also, if you have some other questions or doubts this is the time for you to take the stage and get answers!

Save your seat and register for the EOI Infoday here!

The INTEGRADDE project launched today (June 1st) an Expression of Interest (EOI) Call, oriented to European SMEs and Midcaps willing to implement Advanced Manufacturing solutions in their production process. 

The call will be open from June 1st until September 30th and will select 5 companies to receive selected services (such as Free-Trials) from the ‘Network of Open Pilots Lines’ Catalogue of Services. 

The Expression of Interest will choose 5 beneficiaries which will receive services from the ‘Network of Open Pilots Lines’ catalogue of services. The open pilot line network is made of four RTOs, each of them providing different schemes and AM processes:

• AIMEN Technology Centre: owning different robot-based cells for LMD-powder (LMD-p).
• WEST: owning different robot-based cells for WAAM and LMD-wire (LMD-w).
• CEA: provides access to robot-based workstation for WAAM and different equipment for inspection of AM components.
• IREPA: owning CNC-based cells for LMD-p and robot-based LMD-w with capability to process Titanium.

One additional beneficiary will receive these services from MX3D, the innovation leader in 3D metal printing and partner of INTEGRADDE.

The entire application process is carried out through the open call management site hosted at Fundingbox, while the information about the EOI is published in the Integradde community (make sure to join!)

Check the Guide For Applicants for information on the requirements for participation and the detailed free services the winners will get in the link below and APPLY NOW!

GET ALL THE INFORMATION AND START YOUR APPLICATION HERE! 

Have a look at the first edition of the ConnectedFactories digital information pack - here!

It is a short sum-up of the last public events, deliverables and call for cases. Feel free to share it among your community!

RECLAIM presents a new idea on refurbishment and remanufacturing based on big data analytics, machine learning, predictive analytics, and optimisation models using deep learning techniques and digital twin models with the aim of enabling the stakeholders to make informed decisions about whether to remanufacture, upgrade, or repair heavy machinery that is toward its end-of-life.

This publication in the Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence shows how the integration of RECLAIM technological solutions into industrial environments can lead to industries having an extra economic income from the extended lifetime of manufacturing systems and their components, which can be achieved by adopting refurbishment and remanufacturing solutions.

Get more details about the content and download the paper in our project website here!

Welcome to the 8th edition of the UPTIME Newsletter.

Join the INTEGRADDE training sessions: Additive Manufacturing for Manufacturers and Final Users

The INTEGRADDE consortia has come together to offer you a 2-part online training session on June 25th and July 2nd on Additive Manufacturing.

This is an optimal way of transferring the knowledge and know-how obtained through the development of the project activities to the entire sector, including academia, professionals and public authorities.

The main objectives of these trainings are, on one hand, present the benefits for the industry of the technologies developed within project and, on the other hand, boost the acceptance and integration of the project results in the Advanced Manufacturing value chain.

This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for entities and professionals in the sector to get first-hand information on how to apply these technologies, gain confidence about their use and stay at the forefront of the industry´s future. 

On the agenda: 

The first session will take place on June 25th and will be oriented to manufacturers. The main topics covered will be:

• Design for Additive Manufacturing
• Material procurement
• Process with focus on WAAM and Laser
• Post processing

The second session will take place on July 2nd and will be oriented to final users. The main topics covered will be:

• General introduction to Additive Manufacturing
• Market of Additive Manufacturing and expectations 
• Modelling 
• HSE (Health, safety and environmental protection in the manufacturing sector)
• Standardization 
• Quality and Certification 

Both sessions, organised by Bureau Veritas, will be taught by experts from top-level organisations and companies, among them:

• ESI Group 
• MX3D 
• German Institute for Standardization (DIN)
• AIMEN Technology Centre
• Bureau Veritas Group
• Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems & Automation at University of Patras

Do not miss this opportuniy and BOOK YOUR TICKET here!

Join the INTEGRADDE community for more events and opportunities in Advanced Manufacturing. 

The RECLAIM special session at ETFA, the 26th International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation (7-10 September 2021 in Sweden) provides researchers and practitioners from the industry with a platform to report on recent advances and developments as technological enablers supporting value retention throughout the industrial equipment lifecycle.

Call for proposals | Submit your paper

• Submission deadline: (regular papers) extended to 7 May! | (Work-in-progress/Industry practice papers) 13 May
• Acceptance notification: June 10
• Deadline for final manuscripts: June 17

Topics include (but not limited to):

• Big data analytics, predictive analytics, and optimisation models using deep learning techniques, and digital twin models.
• Models for informed decision about whether refurbish, remanufacture, upgrade, or repair machinery that is towards its end-of-life.
• Technologies and strategies to support a new paradigm for refurbishment and remanufacturing of industrial equipment in factories.
• New concepts and strategies for repair and equipment upgrade and factory layouts’ redesign.
• Optimal refurbishment and re-manufacturing of electromechanical machines and robotics systems.
• IoT sensors, novel prediction, and process optimisation techniques to offer machine lifetime extension.
• Innovative fog computing and augmented reality techniques combined with enhanced health monitoring and failure inspection and diagnosis.
• Approaches for the servicing and upgrading of legacy equipment evaluation and demonstration of approaches in real industrial environments.

More info: Refurbishment and re-manufacturing of machinery in Cyber-Physical Production Systems 

About the EU project RECLAIM (H2020): RE-manufaCturing and Refurbishment LArge Industrial equipment: Manufacturing is a pillar of innovation and growth for Europe, but outdated machinery and unplanned downtime can cause significant losses for companies and employees. RECLAIM provides techniques, strategies, and decision-making tools to reduce machine obsolescence, improve predictive maintenance and upgrade legacy machines. The project partners will demonstrate the advantages of high-tech refurbishment and reuse of large production equipment and lines in 5 industrial sites across sectors – welding, woodwork, textiles, robotics/white goods and footwear, and initiate replication in further sectors. Don't hesitate to get in touch!

The ConnectedFactories Cybersecurity workshop took place on the 20 January 2020.  Presentation and recordings are available here: https://www.connectedfactories.eu/events/cybersecurity-workshoppresentations-and-recordings

IREPA LASER is an industrial research and development company specialized in laser processes and materials, with a laser machine base including over 20 devices to support all companies in their needs.

The main service is to offer customers tailored industrial solutions to support them in their product development and manufacturing engineering projects. This service is focused on three main skill areas: Additive Manufacturing, surface functionalization and welding. IREPA LASER is also a laser training centre and can train individuals in the use of laser technology.

IREPA LASER is involved within INTEGRADDE project for the development of a new manufacturing methodology capable of ensuring the manufacturability, reliability and quality of a target metal component from initial product design via Direct Energy Deposition (DED) technologies. An open-pilot line will be implemented at IREPA LASER, which will allow a continuous validation and deployment of specific developments towards industrialization.

The general INTEGRADDE concept and end-to-end the solution is being deployed at IREPA facilities to test and review as early adopter of this manufacturing methodology. Data collected from different steps are implemented through the digital thread with the final aim to improve the quality of the parts manufactured.

The development of this concept uses of the equipment features of IREPA LASER.

A machine is dedicated to DED-powder (MAGIC system) with 2 lasers (IPG YLR500, and IPG DLR2000), the original MacroCLAD head from IREPA LASER, and a powder feeder from MEDICOAT.

A new hardware has been recently implemented at IREPA LASER. This new robotic system consists of 2 robots, one of which is installed on a linear 5m axis, a rotary table able to support 3T. 2 fibre lasers (IPG laser YLS) bring their laser beam to the DED-powder and DED-wire heads. Profinet network is used to connect and control all this equipment. This novel machine has been designed in order to work on a large scale parts (up to 5m long), with the selected two processes: DED-powder and DED-wire.

Using previous existing LMD-p infrastructure, several developments on process window development, monitoring and control have been carried out. Particularly, efforts have been focused on data collection from CNC and image-based process monitoring information. Data are collected from process sensors (such as image-based data from an NIT camera, temperature) and CNC positions synchronously during the additive manufacturing process. These datasets have been processed, in collaboration with AIMEN, NIT, ATOS and CEA, to generate a 3D representation of the parts being built.

Concerning the digital thread, IREPA has recently migrated on a new CAD-CAM software: SIEMENS NX with the ‘multiaxis deposition module’ for DED machine programming. In collaboration with the partner ‘University of Coimbra’, the use of the AML format in development.

Process development is carried out by using the two DED processes: DED-p and DED-w.

Concerning the DED-w, the PRECITEC Head named ‘Coax Printer’ is used. The upgraded version of this head has been recently received and implemented. It allows recording the interaction between beam-wire-substrate during the deposition with a coaxial vision in order to get more data for the control process.

ForeSee WEBINAR - Application of Standards by factories of the future for Predictive Maintenance

When? January 28th from 4.30 pm CET

Topic: Best practices for standardisation activities and improvements for industrial IoT and smart manufacturing

Registration link: https://bit.ly/3c7yywY

Further information at this link: http://foresee-cluster.eu/

REGISTRATION

Date: Thu, 10 December 2020

Time: 11:00 - 12:30 CET

We kindly invite you to register for the Cybersecurity workshop on the 20 January 2020 organised by ConnectedFactories 2.

                                              Register here and download the agenda

The online workshop will provide an insight into the recent developments of projects that focus on cybersecurity in manufacturing:  SeCoIIA and COLLABS project. 

It will also provide an insight into how cybersecurity aspects are addressed in other projects that focus on the digitalisation of manufacturing and the deployment of digital platforms (see https://www.connectedfactories.eu/origin-project-and-outreach ).     

Have a look also at the presentation on CyberSecurity Related Standards by Ulrich Seldeslachts, LSEC (recording & presentation) from the recent ConnectedFactories Webinar on Standards for digital manufacturing.

In research projects, especially when public funding is provided, the effective, economic usability of the results is increasingly in the focus. Research projects must therefore be holistically and long-term oriented. For this purpose, DIN offers many years of expertise to provide optimum support for the market transfer and dissemination of innovative results from research and development.

In INTEGRADDE, DIN is the partner for questions concerning standardization. DIN coordinates the standardization activities of the project. These activities comprise the knowledge transfer regarding standardization, the development of an overview of the current standardization landscape in the subject area AM as well as the development of accompanying standardization measures.

To foster the knowledge transfer a special standardization training was developed aiming to enable the project partners to develop and pursue joint standardization activities.

The overview of the current standardization landscape provides a detailed research on relevant standardization committees and corresponding standards.

In the case of INTEGRADDE, it quickly became clear that ISO/TC 261 "Additive Manufacturing" is trend-setting in AM and that close cooperation should be targeted.

Due to the very different knowledge base in INTEGRADDE about standardization DIN has developed a standardization training especially for the INTEGRADDE project. The aim of the training was to provide knowledge enabling the project partners to develop and pursue joint standardization activities. Furthermore, the training emphasizes the high relevance of standardization for AM and is meant to motivate the project partners to follow current developments in standardization committees as well as to document and disseminate the knowledge acquired in INTEGRADDE in the long term. The training is divided into the following five chapters: Meaning, structure, integration, AM, follow-up. Each chapter has its own conclusion with the most important information in order to realize an easy understanding and the highest possible absorption of the knowledge.

The training provides information on why it is important to push the issue of standardization both from the beginning and continuously and what the benefits of standardization are. This is followed by an explanation of the basic principles of the working method and the underlying process. The third chapter presents the possibilities for participation and gives an assessment of the resources required for participation.

In the chapter specifically focusing on AM, the most important standards are listed and the standards research carried out is explained. In addition, the structure of the standardization committees in the area of AM is explained before finally reaching a conclusion with the most essential information.

After these cornerstones were laid, the actual standardization started. Challenges faced by the project partners due to gaps in standardization were assessed with the help of a two day workshop. On day one the project partners were asked to position themselves within the INTEGRADDE process as well as to identify and to prioritize current challenges with regard to standardization. On the second day of the workshop the challenges were compared to current and planned standardization projects of ISO/TC 261. These comparisons have been discussed and it was determined in which projects INTEGRADDE should participate or comment. The following key issues of INTEGRADDE for standardization could be identified: 

·        Digital thread

·        Quality assessment (operator, machines, process)

·        Software interoperability

·        Process safety

·        Testing (software, non-destructive, destructive)

·        Properties(feedstock conditions, material, finished parts (e.g. defects))

·        Design methods

·        Terminology

Based on these results a common standardization strategy for the INTEGRADDE project has been prepared. Especially the standardization idea of the "digital thread" for which there is currently no current or planned standardization project is of great importance for the INTEGRADDE project. For this reason, the project is currently striving for close cooperation with ISO/TC 261/WG 4 "Data and Design". With the development of the standardization strategy, an important milestone was accomplished regarding standardization. The further implementation of this strategy will be coordinated and supported by DIN.

As steps in standardization DIN will continue to pursue a close collaboration between the standardization bodies and INTEGRADDE.  One step will be to contribute to the assessed standardization projects. DIN further will identify the responsible groups within ISO/TC 261 for the remaining standardization ideas and check how these can be addressed best.

http://www.integraddeproject.eu/590/standardization_in_integradde

The Digitalization of Manufacturing: Building the ecosystem for a smart and sustainable future event is on the 12sd of November 2020, within the framework of the 2020 edition of the World Manufacturing Forum. It is co-organized by Smart Anything Everywhere, Politecnico di Milano, MADE Competence Center and DIH Lombardia.

This event will bring together European, national and regional initiatives aimed at boosting the digital transformation of manufacturing, to share available opportunities and good practices, and discuss about synergies to work together.
The audience will find out about technologies, funding and collaboration opportunities offered by the “Smart Anything Everywhere” European Initiative to foster the digitalization of SMEs and midcaps. Moreover, the audience will have the opportunity to get lessons learnt and recommendations about the on-going development of the European Digital Innovation Hubs Network building bridges between the European and the local level.

Register here and join the event live to interact with the speakers.

Find the full programme - here

The presentations and recording are available here.

You are also invited to follow the ConnectedFactories2 project and other projects of your interest via the EFFRA Innovation Portal’s weekly digest functionality , you can find out more information on how to do this here: https://www.connectedfactories.eu/follow-connectedfactories-effra-innovation-portal-weekly-digest

On September 24th join the #ForeSee cluster for the 1st #webinar on"Predictive Maintenance: European success stories"!

We'll talk about Platforms and Microservices for manufacturing operations with Prof Sotiris Makris & Kosmas Alexopoulos from the University of Patras and we’ll present @WhirlpoolCorp & @IDEKO demonstrations!

Register for participating: https://www.crit-research.it/en/eventi/predictive-maintenance-webinar-series-european-success-stories/ https://www.crit-research.it/en/eventi/predictive-maintenance-webinar-series-european-success-stories/

Predictive Maintenance: European success stories

The ForeSee Cluster has launched a series of webinars to discuss about the breakthrough Predictive Maintenance innovations achieved by its members.

Have a look at the program and subscribe to the 1st meeting to know more on our PdM solutions!

Program: http://foresee-cluster.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/ForeSeeWebinarSeries.pdf

For further information on the initiative: https://www.z-bre4k.eu/news/foresee-cluster-webinar-series/

HOW DOES A ROBOT LEARN HOW TO PERFORM A TASK NOWADAYS?

Since Henry Ford’s assembly lines, automation systems have been developed and integrated in the industry all over the world. Clear examples of this are Amazon’s automated warehouses or Coca-Cola’s dark sheds. 

While these examples are stunning, it is also true that nowadays, these robots need their own warehouses where no interaction with humans happens. Also, high qualified robotics engineers have to program them to perform the required repetitive tasks.

In the future, we imagine a world where anybody, without any prior knowledge in robotics, could buy a robot, set it in their workshop and start teaching the robot to perform some task interacting with the human workers. But, what should the robot learn? Welcome to the Movement Primitives.

WHAT ARE THE MOVEMENT PRIMITIVES?

Movement Primitives are the set models that represent the different type of actions the robot could do.These models will generate trajectories the robot should follow in order to perform a certain task.

Let’s assume we want a robot to learn to pick a certain object. Instead of programming the task, we can make the robot learn from human demonstrations. A human could move manually the robot arm to the object we want to pick several times while changing the object position and the robot will learn a model that represents that action. Afterwards, if the object is set in a completely new position, the robot will be able to generate a trajectory to pick this object.

MOVEMENT PRIMITIVES IN SHAREWORK

SHAREWORK project benefits from the use of Movement Primitives for task recognition and also prediction of human movement. Movement Primitives can represent the different type of motions the human does and so, they could be integrated as an additional feature for a task classification module. On the other side, Movement Primitives can provide a probabilistic prediction model about where the human is going to be, in order to improve the robot motion planners. 

During the SHAREWORK project, Context-Aware Movement Primitive Segmentation algorithms are going to be applied. The algorithm will be able to segment the recorded human motion online and learn the simplest blocks of which the human motion is built in order to solve a complex task. 

SHAREWORK project will use Movement Primitives for learning from human actions by understanding the worker’s behaviour and anticipating tasks 

These learned motion primitives are contextualised with the objects in the environment in order to adapt to the different positions the same object can be placed. Afterwards, these Movement Primitives will be used as the building blocks of the task classification algorithms.

These same Context-Aware Movement Primitives will provide a probabilistic prediction of the position of the human in the future. Mixed with robot motion planner, the robot will plan safer trajectories, avoiding the collision with the humans.

THE NEW CHALLENGE OF ROBOTICS: TAKE OVER THE HANDWORK MANUFACTURING

The Robotic Industry is growing bigger day by day, launching on the market several advanced solutions which promise to revolutionise the way factories produce goods and assembly parts in a near future. As a result, also the expectations of Industry are constantly increasing and they look at robots as the definitive solution to save time (and, of course, money) and boost profits of their manufacturing companies.

The handwork manufacture is the new battlefield that robotics has begun to conquest in recent years, but despite this there is still a lot of room for improvement and expansion. In fact, while nowadays almost all the operators performing repetitive and simple tasks have been replaced with highly automated assembly lines, the same has not yet happened for handcraft. This is mainly due by the fact that manual labour requires such high skills and a human sensitivity that, at the moment, a robot cannot replace the operator in almost all the cases.

The automation of assembly lines based mainly on handwork are quite a challenge for the robotic industry due to the need of high skills and sensitivity

The solution that robotic producers have found to overcome this limit is the launch on the market of collaborative robots (also called cobots). Cobots aim to support handcrafts in the most repetitive, heaviest and uncomfortable tasks rather than completely replace them, allowing to preserve the high quality generated by manual labour and speeding up the productivity at the same time.

Unfortunately, the implementation of a robotic system into the production process is everything except easy and instantaneous and the benefits the robot could bring are not so obvious. In fact, the selection of proper components and a smooth integration are crucial to generate the positive impact on productivity, quality and operators’ working conditions which factory owners wish. And this is even more true for the implementation of collaborative robots into handwork manufacturing, where the system should reach high performance without neglecting the operator safety and the human acceptance.

Collaborative robots offer handcraft industries a support in repetitive and uncomfortable tasks for operators

Indeed, there is the need of an intermediary figure which could drive the end-user through the jungle of robotic products and serve as an interface between the salesman approach of suppliers and the concreteness of craftsmen undertaking in the workshop. This figure within Sharework project is commonly named as “Technology Coach”, and STAM is in charge of filling that role for one of the four use-cases, namely the assembly of rotary table in Goizper factory.

THE TECHNOLOGY COACH: NOT ONLY A MATTER OF DESIGN

If the role of the Technology Coach is essential in the implementation of a robotic system into production lines, it could be even crucial when we talk about the introduction of cobots supporting handcrafts because of the aforementioned reasons. But exactly, who the Technology Coach is? And what it is supposed to do?

Generally speaking, it is a work team with well-mixed competences which belongs to a high-tech company or a R&D center. Unlike suppliers or system integrators, the Technology Coach not only proposes the design of a tailored robotic cell, but they follow a holistic approach which involves the end-user to reinvent and redesign the workflow and the workshop layout of tomorrow in a better way.

The Technology Coach should listen and understand the needs and the objectives of the end-user. Satisfying these wishes and achieving these goals will be its main mission. Once an agreement is found, Technology Coach should select suitable commercial solution, get in touch with suppliers, design the robotic system, reinvent the workflow and reshape the layout if needed, install and test the solution.They should take care of the whole process of implementation of the robot into the shop floor, from the definition of requirements to the commissioning and final test. This is an iterative and continuous process, some steps should be done several times until finding an equilibrium among the end-user expectations, the current robotic supply, the budget, the operator acceptance and well-being, the timing and so on.

Technology Coaches help industries in the implementation of new robotic systems, leading the whole innovation process matching he end-user’s demand in the most effective way

Most of the work of a Technology Coach can be done in its headquarters, using modern communication network to periodically update the end-user about the work progress. However, it is highly recommended to have a face-to-face with the end-user at the begin of the project, as well as to visit the shop floor and talk with operators working there to have a clear picture of the process.

The value added to the figure of the Technology Coach is to put at the stake all its set of cross-cutting competences and resources to satisfy the wishes of the end-user. Technical Coaching does not simply mean designing a robotic cell, but leading the whole innovation process of the manufacture, matching the robotic supply to the end-user’s demand in the most effective and smooth way.

THE SHAREWORK EXAMPLE: A COBOT FOR SUPPORTING THE MANUAL ASSEMBLY OF ROTARY TABLE

As mentioned before, STAM embodies the role of Technology Coach in Sharework project to support Goizper and coordinate partners contributions in the implementation of a collaborative robot system in their servo rotary table assembly area. As the assembly of these components requires a remarkable human sensitivity and manual skill, the main aim of Goizper is to delegate to the Sharework system the most heavy and repetitive tasks of the assembly, while preserving worker focus on the most skilled operations.

As first step, we worked together to select the most suitable tasks to be delegated to the cobot and to define in details each scenario. In order to have a complete and clear picture of the workshop and the process, we carried out a technical visit to the factory together with the consortium. We had the chance to directly experience the working conditions (e.g. spaces, loads, noise), as well as to talk in first person with the workers to collect their feedback.

Once the use-case was pretty defined, STAM began to serve as an interface among the end-user and the external world. Our role was double: on one hand we translated the requests of Goizper into requirements and clear specification to effectively communicate with commercial suppliers and with the multiple software developers involved in Sharework, each one focused on different specific tasks. And, vice versa, we collected feedbacks, requests and suggestions from all the different entities involved in the Sharework project to provide a unified vision to Goizper and to propose them a feasible human-robot collaborative solution that could meet their expectations.

For these purposes, 3D models and views (see the following pictures), as well as all the other visual medias, are very useful to finally put on paper the developed concept and allow other partners to understand it in an easy and clear manner.

It has been a long and iterative decisional process, but, in the end, we did it! We reached a final solution reinventing the rotary table assembly workflow to enhance the productivity, exalt the qualities of workers and safeguard their well-being.

However, our job is just starting out: we have to work hard in the next months to make this design on paper a concrete reality. Stay tuned!

During the last years, Goizper’s mind has changed little by little, complementing new technology developments with the power transmission components portfolio. The obtained good results have certified that new technologies integration is the correct way to follow.

A STEP FORWARD BECOMING GOIZPER 4.0 

Goizper S. Coop. has already integrated several Industry 4.0 solutions related to its market products, such as smart-G, an IoT monitoring system integrated on mechanical components in order to predict failures. However, now Goizper has started a new era introducing Industry 4.0 solutions on its own shop floor in Antzuola, Basque Country (Spain).

On the one side, new machinery, such as milling and turning machines, are running in Goizper’s shop floor, with integrated IoT solutions and direct connection with the supplier (machine experts) through internet. On the other side, Goizper has decided to invest in new technologies on the manual assembly area, where operators’ ergonomic issues concern the company.

Conventional robots have never fit in the assembly area due to the flexibility degree that Goizper’s products assembly require and the high variety and low quantities of each reference. However, Goizper decided to go further and participate in Sharework project as we believe that collaborative robots will be able to provide the flexibility that Goizper’s assembly area needs. Within the project, Goizper Industrial will validate a new design of their workplace to introduce collaborative robots in their servo rotary table assembly area.

Several benefits are expected from Sharework project, including an improvement of ergonomics in the workplace, avoid work-related injuries, improve the final quality of the product and a significant reduction of the assembly process’ cycle time.

OPERATORS’ ERGONOMICS CONDITIONS TO IMPROVE

A new way of introducing robotics into the workplace has risen with the development of collaborative robotics (Cobots), which allow the operator to share the assembly area with robots without the need to be separated by fences. Managers in Goizper think that Cobots introduction in the assembly line by means of Sharework project, will improve operators´ ergonomics conditions.

Power transmission components’ assembly, such as turning tables, request many manual adjustments applied by human force. Hence, some tasks could lead to back injuries or muscular pain in operators.

OPERATORS AND COBOTS, A SUCCESSFUL TEAM TO RISE PRODUCT QUALITY  

For sure, with the introduction of cobots for operators’ assistance, the quality of the assembled product will be higher. Obviously, automated processes provide a higher percentage of good parts compared to manual processes. In Sharework industrial scenario, bolts will be locked with the same torque in a repetitive and more precise tool than nowadays.

Goizper is eager to see how much the quality of their products is improved after cobots incorporation, during Sharework project.

SPEEDING UP THE ASSEMBLY PROCESS

Productivity is not the main goal of this technology integration; nevertheless, assembly cycle time is expected to be reduced due to the fast execution of UR10 Cobots. Within Sharework scenario, which will be applied to our servo rotary table assembly area, time reduction must provide a better lead time of the product and economic benefits.

THE SAFETY OF OUR EMPLOYEES AT THE CENTER OF ALL THE OPERATION

As none of these new technology’s integration could run before ensuring human safety and make sure that all safety requirements in the shop floor are met, Goizper’s Human Resources Department – the bridge between the new technology and the human – is also closely participating in Sharework project.

Goizper, as one of Sharework’s project industrial scenarios, aims to use the collaboration robotics technology for assisting and helping operators in their daily tasks, such as handling heavy parts to the operator and passing them the correct part to be assembled or the tool to be used at the correct time. Under no circumstances the operator will be replaced by the collaborative robot but just another tool available to help for the operator, in addition to other technologies or devices already deployed in the assembly workplace.

The manufacturing industry is observing great changes in these years. Its radical evolution is due to the growing demand of the market, accompanied with an increase of variety. Both these characteristics force us to gain more flexibility, accuracy and efficiency in our production departments, together with a continuous cost reduction.

The industrial manufacturing applications have seen the introduction of a new category of robots – collaborative robots (or “cobots”) – designed to physically interact with humans in a shared environment, without the typical barriers or protective cages used in traditional robotic systems.

Our vision in Cembre S.p.A. is to take advantage from cobots and from the smart manufacturing as a whole in order to increase the service rate and improve the worker’s ergonomics. We think that human-robot collaboration (HRC) is prime for increasing both these factors and that Sharework EU project is fundamental for developing more knowledge about HRC, helping filling the gap between the robotic and the human worlds.

Cembre could have gone to full shop floor automation but we would have lost human flexibility. Collaborative robots provide a half way solution between the human and robotics world

THE INTRODUCTION OF COLLABORATIVE ROBOTICS IN ADVANCED MACHINE TENDING

Cembre S.p.A., based in Brescia (Italy), is always eager to employ new methods or technologies that can support the development and the improvement of its entire production system. For this reason, the company constantly collaborates with universities, start-ups, research centres and others associations.

The Sharework project perfectly fits in this approach, since it will be pioneering in the employment of HRC using collaborative robots within manufacturing systems and, in general, in industrial operations.

The objectives we want to achieve are many.

1. Gain flexibility in managing the machining of a large variety of parts without the need to develop expensive equipment and plan a long training for every new product that enters the shop floor.
2. Employ our operators in more value-added tasks, such as inspections and process optimisation, and move non-value-added activities and repetitive task, such as motion or transportation, to the cobots.
3. Increase operators’ ergonomics, which itself is one of our primary targets together with operator’s welfare and satisfaction. These latter should increase because the skills required to an operator will be brought to a higher level thus improving the interest for the job inside machining shop floor.
4. In the long term, once the complete system will be deployed on the whole shop floor, we also expect a decrease in lead-time and quality losses.

SHAREWORK PROJECT DEPLOYMENT AT CEMBRE’S PLANT

We are currently implementing the Sharework project in the machining shop floor located in Brescia’s plant: production engineers, human resources and operators are all engaged. Most of them are new to this kind of projects and these technologies, aspects that makes Sharework especially challenging for the company. Regarding this, the contributions of the CNR, the Italian research centre, and of MCM, our technologic partner, are very important to us.

The role of people is fundamental to create deep connections between working conditions and technologies. In fact, one of the main challenges for the future is to understand how this new paradigm for the manufacturing systems could generate benefits to the entire production chain. Who if not humans could imagine this?

Have a look at Z-BRE4K presentation video and discover more on our Predictive Maintenance solutions!!

Link to: https://youtu.be/k1aZKtPpADQ

Currently, EFFRA carries out a consultation consisting of two main tracks.

• One track aims at collecting the opinion of individual experts who respond on behalf of their organisation (or on behalf of a part of their organisation)

You can find more information about this consultation here.

• The other track collects information from the perspective of finished or ongoing European Projects, in particular addressing Factories of the Future PPP projects, but not excluding other relevant projects.

You can find more information about this consultation here.

The deadline for the Made In Europe’s consultations is extended until 30 of June.

Stay up to date: https://www.effra.eu/made-in-europe-state-play